Twin Haruno: Part I
by DeadGirlEtarnal
Summary: Rio Haruno, the older fraternal TWIN of Sakura Haruno, though both of them are very different people from another, but they have one thing in common, they're both boy-crazy. I ONLY OWN MY OCS!
1. Enter: Rio Haruno

**Character File**

**Name: **Rio Haruno

**Born:** March 28th (Firstborn)

**Gender:** Female

**Age: **12-13

**Height: **151cm

**Blood type:** AB+

**Occupation:** Academy Student (_Graduated_), Genin

**Affiliation: **Hidden Leaf Village

**Team: **Team 7 (Kakashi Hatake)

**Clan: **Haruno

**Ninja Rank:** Genin

**Ninja Registration: **012673

**Academy Graduation Age:** 12 years old.

Sensei note: _There are hopes of Rio along with a few others to graduate the Academy this year as she has progressed further than we can teach._

**Relatives: **(_Father_) Kizashi Haruno, (_Mother_) Melouki Haruno, (_Sibling_) Sakura Haruno

**Nature Type:** Earth Release (AFFINITY, ADVANCED), Fire Release (AVERAGE), Water Release (INTERMEDIATE)

**Skills:** Chakra Control (ADVANCED), Marksmanship (INTERMEDIATE), Taijutsu (ADVANCED), Aerial attacks (INTERMEDIATE), Ninjutsu (ADVANCED), Naginata (EXPERT), Genjutsu (AVERAGE)

**Interests:** Training, Fighting, Weapons, Friends, Family, Naruto, Studying, Being Number 1, Books, Games, Reading books on flowers, Warm weather, Naginata, Rain, Blood, Flowers, Planets, Medical herbs, Gardening, Herbs, Winning, Learning new Jutsu, Onigiri, Tigers, Music

**Disinterests:** Enemy Ninja, Boredom, Silence, Ignorance, Mean spirited people, Injured Naruto and friends, Sweet foods, Losing, Bullying, Death, Sickness, Crude comments, Rude behaviour

**Personality:** Bubbly, Proud, Bold, Girly, Intelligent, Smug, Collected, Lovable, Honest, Loving, Supportive, Protective, Strategic

**Appearance: **Short pixie cut dark pink hair, Green eyes, Porcelain skin, Slender, Innocent appearance

**Attire: **Pink short kimono dress with bow, Black sandals, Bandages wrapped around both legs, Weapon pouches, White leather fingerless gloves with a bow

* * *

Enter Survival Test: My Name is Rio Haruno. Friend or Foe?

Land of Waves Mission - Episode 1 - 4 (Beginning)

3rd POV:

"A long time ago, a powerful demon fox appeared with nine tails. With its powerful tails, it could smash mountains and create tsunamis. A band of Shinobi rose to defend their village against its attack. However, one great Ninja was able to seal the monster away but died in the process. This Ninja was known as... The Fourth Hokage."

NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC

Twelve years later in the Hidden Leaf Village, a young blond-haired boy runs down the street with a bucket of paint in hand laughing as two Ninja chase after him. "Hey, Naruto!" One shouts after him in outrage.

"Why did you do such a thing?!" The other shouts along with his partner.

"You're really gonna get it this time!" The first one shouts and Naruto jumps up and the two Ninja jump up after him, the three jump around the side of buildings as they give chase, Naruto jumps down slowly trying to get away from the two Ninja pursuing him.

"You're annoying, ya know!" Naruto shouts after them. "You know what your problem is; you can't do the things I do! But I can pull it off! I'm awesome!" He says and looks up at the mountain face with the four faces of the Hokages.

NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC

Inside the Hokage building, the Third sits painting relaxing when two Ninjas burst into the room, disturbing his peace. "There's a problem, Lord Third! Lord Hokage!"

"What is it? Did Naruto do something again?" He asks, stopping as he turns his head slightly.

"Yes, he climbed onto the Hokage Monuments…" The one on his left informs him.

"And vandalised them with graffiti!" The other one on his right finishes waving his arms around and the Third Hokage let out a sigh knowing his relaxing day is in ruins.

NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC

Naruto continues to try to evade the two Ninjas after him and drops down back onto the street and hides almost appearing as if he's leapt off and the other two Ninjas jump after him unaware that he is hiding. "Wait!" One of them shouts, Naruto reveals himself hiding using a Ninja tool, he pulls the blanket that looks like an ordinary wooden fence, and he looks in the direction that the two Ninja disappeared in and scratched the back of his head laughing.

"Too easy." Naruto laughs to himself when another Ninja comes up from behind him angrily bending over.

"Hey, Naruto!" He shouts in the young blond's ear, scaring him as he jumps falling on his ass.

"What are you doing here, Iruka Sensei?" Naruto asks him as he looks up at his Academy Teacher.

"The question is, what are you doing here during class?" Iruka asks him, pointing down at him looking miffed and gets some rope out of his back pocket, tying up the blond delinquent.

NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC

Iruka drops Naruto still tied up on the floor in his classroom in front of the desks filled with his students. "Listen up, Naruto. You failed the last graduation exam and the one before that. This is no time to be goofing off, you fool!" Iruka scolds him but Naruto being too stubborn turns his head away with a huff, Iruka grits his teeth with frustration and points behind him. "Today we'll do a re-test on the Transformation Jutsu! Even those who already passed will take it!"

"WHAT?!~" The class all exclaim in surprise and frustration at their classmate but the look Iruka gives them they all quiet down. They stand up from their desks to line up at the front of the classroom. Sakura Haruno begins her turn as she stands in front of their teacher using the correct hand formation.

"Sakura Haruno. Here I go! Transform!" She says and with a puff of smoke forming around her which quickly disappears to reveal another Iruka standing there still doing the same hand formation.

"Okay," Iruka confirms and writes down on his clipboard, Sakura deactivates the Jutsu and reverts to herself once another puff of clouds form, and she cheers to herself.

"I did it!" She cheers on the spot. "I did it!" She thinks to herself "Sasuke, did you see that?" She asks her long-time crush but doesn't get a reply.

"Next, Sasuke Uchiha…" Iruka calls out; he steps up as Sakura walks back to her seat.

"Yes," He answers before walking to the vacant spot and uses the Transformation Jutsu as Iruka writes on his clipboard, he looks up to see that Sasuke has done it.

"O-okay," Iruka says, and Sasuke deactivates the Jutsu before walking off back to his seat. "Next, Rio Haruno." He calls out,

"Man, this is such a drag," Shikamura complains looking at Naruto, and Rio stands next to him.

"It's all your fault, too." Ino joins in complaining.

"Like I care," Naruto replies, brushing it off.

"Ino, Shika, enough," Rio tells them, they stiffen their backs and look at their friend who gives them a look, and they shut their mouths, and she walks to the spot, does the hand formation and a puff of smoke surrounds her and floats away revealing the 3rd Hokage standing in her place.

"Good Rio." Iruka comments and she deactivates the Jutsu before walking away. "Next, Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto cockily walks to the vacant spot as Rio walks past him.

"Good luck, Naruto." She whispers, and he nods to her before placing his hands in the correct formation.

"Transform!" Naruto exclaims, and chakra surrounds him, then a puff of smoke surrounds him and reveals an older, naked female version of himself, with long blond pigtails and smoke covering him slightly, Iruka looks in shock at the sight of his students transformation when blood leaks from his nose and he falls back on the floor, Naruto deactivates his Jutsu laughing clutching at his stomach. "How's that? I call it the Sexy Jutsu!"

"You idiot! Stop making dumb Jutsu!" Iruka shouts at Naruto.

"Excuse me, Iruka Sensei, but Naruto technical did perform the Transformation Jutsu and created a new one in the process." Rio remarks as she sits at her desk, Iruka and Naruto look back at her, and she smiles brightly before lowering her head to the book in front of her.

NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC

The next day at the Academy, it's time for the graduation exam, the students all sit in the classroom with Iruka standing at the front of the room. "We're about to begin the graduation exam. When your name is called, come to the classroom next door. This is a test on the Clone Jutsu." Iruka announces some of the students groan at the prospect of doing that Jutsu.

"But… I'm so crap at that Jutsu…!" Naruto groans inside his head, clutching at his face in frustration.

"Rio Haruno," Iruka calls out, and she gets up from her seat from the back next to her friend Shikamura and walks past Naruto stopping.

"Good luck Naruto, I hope you pass." She tells him before continuing out of the room.

NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC

Rio Haruno stands in the classroom in front of Iruka and Mizuki, another teacher at the Academy. Rio stands in front of their table full of headbands, and she does the correct hand formation with a puff of smoke surrounding her. The towering clouds dissolve to reveal five copies of Rio standing in different poses, Iruka sighs at her not because she is showing off, but because she is holding back. "Well done, Rio you've passed, here is your Leaf headband," Iruka tells her as he picks one of the headbands from the table and Rio walks over, taking the headband from his hand.

"Thank you, Iruka Sensei," Rio replies and walks out of the room.

NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC

Rio waits outside as all of the parents enter the playground, along with other students that have passed. Rio sees Naruto sitting on the swing under the tree all alone. Mum and Dad seem hesitant to congratulate Sakura and I but non the less they do, I can't help but look at Naruto as he's all alone, looking so sad. Rio pulls away from her family and walks over to the other side of the playground towards Naruto, she slowly walks in front of him, and he looks up, seeing her sandals in his view. "Hey, Naruto, I'm really sorry you didn't pass." She tells him, and he looks back down, fixing his goggles.

"It's okay Rio I can always try again," Naruto replies and Rio nods.

"I can always help you when I'm not busy." She tells him, and he nods his head.

"Rio, darling!" Rio's mother calls out to her; she turns her head over to the gaggle of happy families and nods her head.

"I should go. I hope you pass next time, Naruto." She says, and they both hear approaching footsteps, the two look over to see Mizuki standing there. "Good luck, Naruto." She speaks and walks away, not saying anything to Mizuki as she feels something in her stomach about him and walks over to her family.

NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC

At the Haruno home, Rio and Sakura sit at the dining table eating their favourite meals. At the same time, their parents wash the pots and pans, Rio picks at her food a little knowing how her parents feel about Sakura and her becoming Ninja. But Rio feels upset over her friends' failure, Naruto looking so sad still an image inside her head, Sakura looks at her Sister and nudges her in the side. "Are you okay, Rio?" Sakura asks her older sister with concern.

"Yeah, I just think that Naruto should have passed this time and I have a bad feeling about Mizuki." Rio answers and Sakura looks at her Sister in thought before nodding knowing her sister is never wrong.

"Maybe you're right Rio, but Naruto always fools around in class and Mizuki Sensei… well, he's a teacher you said the same thing about Iruka Sensei when you first met him." Sakura points out, and Rio nods her head in agreement.

"I know that Naruto always goofs off in class, but he does that for the attention that he doesn't get from anyone else and Mizuki isn't right off the bat." Rio replies and Sakura hums in agreement.

NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC

Two days later Rio and Sakura stand side by side waiting for their turn to get their picture taken, Rio walks up next after another student and stands between the two lights and gives the photographer a pose she wants for her photo ID, he takes the picture. Once done Rio walks over to the side as Sakura takes her place in front of the camera and he snaps the shot, and she walks over to Rio, and they leave chatting unknowing that Naruto is in the line dead last looking like a clown.

NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC

Rio and Sakura walk down the street on their way home and notice Naruto lying on the ground with a young boy standing next to him looking frightened, a woman storms past them enraged. "Oh, poor Naruto." Rio comments and they continue walking down the street.

"Oh, poor Naruto." Sakura mocks her older Sister, Rio looks at her Sister and nudges her in the side, pushing her away from her jokingly. "You like him, don't you?" She asks, but Rio doesn't verbally answer her as a blush forms on her cheeks. "I knew it!" Sakura squeals and Rio rapidly speeds in front of her Sister.

NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC

Three days after the Academy graduation exam, Rio stands in her room looking in front of her mirror as she fixes her hair and straightens up her dress when her Mother calls out to them. "Rio! Sakura! Shouldn't you be heading out soon?"

"I was about to go!" Sakura yells from her room next door.

"We're leaving now!" Rio yells at the same time from her room, and the two of them leave their bedrooms at the same time, they look at each other and head out to the front door.

NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC

The Haruno Twins walk down the street towards the Academy when Ino comes out of her family shop. "I'm off!" She waves off stepping out onto the street and notices the Haruno Twins, Rio continues walking ahead.

"Hey, Ino." Rio greets her and continues walking past her as Sakura and Ino as they walk behind her, she ignores their petty squabble and fixes her headband around her right thigh. Rio looks up as Ino and Sakura rush past her, she sighs as she walks behind their racing figures.

NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC

At the Academy classroom, Naruto sits at one of the desks in a dazy happy he's passed to become a Ninja and another step closer to achieving his dream when Shikamura walks down the steps passing him. "What the…? Why are you here? Today's meeting is graduates only." Shikamura asks him.

"Hey, can't you see this headband, buddy? Starting today, I'm a Ninja. It's like… how do I put it… it looks really good on me!" Naruto rambles on when Sakura and Ino slams open the door to the classroom; the two girls try to fight their way inside the room, Rio walks up behind them, she pushes them through onto the floor and steps over them.

"Sorry," She apologises, but there is no sincerity in her voice as she slowly walks into the classroom.

"Goal!" Sakura and Ino shout as they stand up.

"I won again, Sakura!" Ino brags though the two of them look exhausted.

"What are you saying…?" Sakura replies, "My toe entered the classroom before yours by a centimetre."

"Are you blind?" Ino exclaims causing Naruto to turn around at the loud yelling between the girls and sees Rio Haruno walking towards him, his cheeks turn as scarlet as her hair.

"Hello Naruto, I see you passed, I'm delighted to see you here," Rio tells him sincerely as a slight blush forms on her cheeks as she walks around to the other side to her seat.

"Hey, Sakura!" Ino calls out as she dashes over towards her sister, Naruto and another and Rio is sitting on the other side.

"M-morning Sasuke." Sakura greets him with a hint of a blush as she pulls Naruto out of the way and Sasuke finally noticing she's there looks up at her. "Can I sit next to you?"

"Hey! I'm going to sit next to Sasuke!" Ino argues grabbing hold of Sakura's elbow.

"First come, first served!" Sakura snaps back.

"I got into the classroom before you!" Ino argues and more of the girls in their class walk over to the squabbling girls.

"I did!" One of the girls yells out.

"If that's the case, then I did!" Yells another fan.

"I was first!"

"I'm sitting next to Sasuke!"

"Still at it huh Sasuke, seem as popular as ever." Rio comments, Sasuke looks at her with a hint of a smile as he looks at his best friend and he closes his early, trying not to get frustrated at the fangirls enthusiasm.

NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC

Inside the Hokage building, in the private room, all the assigned Jounin stand around looking down at the desk where a crystal ball sits on a purple cushion showing the classroom of the awaiting Academy graduates. "Is that him? This years number one rookie, Sasuke Uchiha?" One of the Jounins asks as they all look inside the crystal ball.

"The year's number one male rookie, yes." The 3rd Hokage corrects the Jounin.

"Sole survivor of the Uchiha clan?" Kurenai questions the 3rd Hokage.

"This years number one female rookie is Rio Haruno." He adds on, and the image inside the crystal ball changes showing Rio sitting next to Sasuke and the image moves towards the gaggle of fangirls along with Naruto sprawled out on the floor leaning against one of the desks.

NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC

Inside the classroom, Naruto comes too and gets up from the floor and walks over to the desk. He hops onto the surface, crouching down to face Sasuke. The two glared at each other. "Naruto! Stop staring at Sasuke!" Sakura orders him; the two boys glare almost emitting lightning between them.

"Sasuke just beat him up!" The fangirls all yell, "Yeah, yeah!" The fangirls all go quiet when the boy in front of Naruto accidentally knocks him into Sasuke, resulting in them kissing. Everyone, including Rio, turns to look in shock "Eh…" The two boys pull away in disgust, holding their necks trying to spit out the foul experience.

"Naruto, I'll kill you!" Sasuke threatens him.

"My mouth is rolling!" Naruto complains.

"Was that my fault?" The boy questions as he watches the two boys as they try not to hurl when Naruto stops looking startled.

"Huh, bloodlust?" Naruto wonders and turns around to see all of the fangirls looking him dead in the eye with such hate.

"Naruto…" Sakura growls at him, "... you little…!"

"An accident… it was an accident, ya know!" Naruto defends himself.

"You're so annoying!" Sakura growls as she cracks her knuckles looking very threatening, Rio shakes off her shock and comes to Naruto's defence.

"Girls, that wasn't Sasuke's first kiss, I did last year," Rio announces, the fangirls go silent, the bloodlust in the air fades away with the shock at the girl, but they seem to accept this more than the face that Naruto took his first kiss.

NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC

Inside the private room, the Jounin and Hokage watch in surprise at the announcement, "That Naruto… the centre of attention as usual." Hokage comments.

NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC

Inside the classroom, Iruka walks into the front of the class. Everyone is settled down and sitting at their desks. "As of today, you all have become full-fledged Ninjas. However, you're still new Genins. It's only going to get tougher from here! From here on, you'll be in a team of three, and one team of four, and accomplish missions under your Jounin teachers." Iruka informs the class, Sakura, Naruto and Ino perk up with two different reasons.

"I wonder who's going to be in Sasuke's team...?" Ino teases Sakura as the two sit near each other.

"I don't know," Sakura replies, seeming all serious.

"The teams have been determined so that the strength of all members will be balanced. Here they are! Team 1-" Iruka announces as he goes through the list of students, "Next is Team 7. Naruto Uzumaki. Sakura Haruno. Rio Haruno." Naruto jumps up in a cheer in his seat next to Sakura who sighs and Rio breaks out into a smile. "And… Sasuke Uchiha." Naruto sits down in a sigh of defeat while Sakura jumps up in her seat in a cheer, Rio nudges Sasuke in the side who turns to look at her as she smiles at him glad she is with her friends and Sister. "Next is Team 8. Hinata Hyuga."

"Y-yes," Hinata answers hesitantly.

"Kiba Inuzuka. Shino Aburame." Iruka announces the next team, and Sakura turns around grinning at Ino, giving her a smug gesture.

"Why did you get to be with him?" Ino seethes clenching her fists angrily at her classmate.

"Why do girls like that kind of guy anyway?" Shikamaru questions looking as bored as usual for him.

"Don't you know that, Shikamura?" Ino asks him, simmering down slightly.

"Well, I'm not a girl." He points out.

"That's why you aren't popular. I wouldn't want to team up with a guy like you." Ino teases him.

"Team 10. Ino Yamanaka. Shikamaru Nara." Iruka announces.

"Looks like you have to team up with me." Shikamaru teases her right back.

"And, Choji Akimichi. That's all for the groups!" Iruka says and lowers his clipboard when Naruto jumps up from his seat.

"Iruka-Sensei!" Naruto shouts pointing towards Sasuke. "Why is a top student like me in the same group as this guy?!"

"Sasuke graduated with the second-highest scores. Naruto, you're at the bottom!" Iruka says, and the class all laugh at him. "This is how we're trying to balance the strength within groups."

"Just don't get in my way, loser." Sasuke taunts him, Rio hits him in the side lightly.

"What did you say?!" Naruto yells in outrage.

"You want to fight, loser?" Sasuke replies and Rio sighs to herself as the class all laugh at Naruto.

"Knock it off, Naruto!" Sakura scolds him.

"I'm sorry," Naruto, apologies.

"I'll introduce you to your Jounin teachers in the afternoon. You're dismissed until then!" Iruka tells them, and the class get their things and leave the room, Rio grabs her lunchbox quickly, leaving the classroom.

NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC

Rio sits on the grass surrounded by flowers as she eats her lunch unaware of what is happening outside the garden she cares for, the pinkette hears the grass crunching under footsteps, she glances up through her bangs to see Sasuke standing by her side. "Good afternoon, Sasuke, I thought you'd be eating alone?" Rio asks him, and she goes back to eating her food.

"I wanted to talk to you," Sasuke tells her, and she looks up at him tilting her head to the side and smiles at him.

"It's okay Naruto, we can talk," Rio says, and he looks at her in shock transforming back into himself still looking at her in shock.

"H-how did you know it was me?" Naruto asks her.

"Sasuke always likes eating alone, and we may be friends, but he doesn't know about the garden. Only you or Sakura know about it." Rio replies and Naruto sits down next to her, and they begin chatting, laughing and smiling as they enjoy their lunch together when Naruto bolts to his feet running off. "Are you okay!" Rio calls after him, and he runs into the academy. "I hope he's okay." She whispers to herself.

NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC

Lunch has finished Rio walks back into the classroom with a glass of water with some leaves inside; she walks over to Naruto, placing the glass in front of him. "What is this?" He asks her, and she points to the leaves inside.

"These are basil leaves they help to fight bad bacteria inside the stomach, Sasuke told me you weren't feeling well, and I picked these from my garden," Rio explains and Sakura hearing this gasps.

"You actually picked something from your garden?" Sakura whisper-yells and Rio nods her head in agreement and sits down at her seat from before as Naruto sips hesitantly at the rim of the glass.

"Drink that slowly Naruto," Rio warns him, and one of the Jounins walks into the room announcing his Team number.

Too much time passes as Team 7 stay in the classroom awaiting their Jounin Captain, but still, they have not turned up, Rio continues to sit in her seat along with Sakura and Sasuke though Naruto stands at the front of the classroom. "He's late," Naruto complains as he opens the door of the classroom peaking out into the hallway and Sakura stands from her seat and moves to the front leaning against her desk.

"Naruto, stay still." Sakura scolds him.

"But why is the teacher for Team 7 the only one that's late? All the other teams went off somewhere with their new teacher, and Iruka Sensei's gone too." Naruto complains moving from between the door.

"Don't look at me," Sakura tells him when he drags a chair towards the door. "Hey, what're you doing Naruto?" Naruto gets up onto the step placing the chalkboard eraser at the top of the gap in the door with a wicked grin on his face.

"It's his own fault for being late!" Naruto proclaims and jumps down from the step putting his hands on his hips.

"Geez, you're asking for it." Sakura tries to act all mature, Rio scoffs.

"A Jounin wouldn't get caught in such an obvious booby trap," Sasuke comments from his seat.

"That's right. Naruto, you're such an idiot." Sakura scolds him, and Rio stiffens up when a hand touches the door. The others all see the same hand and watch as the door opens the reveal their Jounin teacher opens the door moving in headfirst allowing the chalkboard eraser to hit him on the head as he enters. A silence settles over the group before Naruto breaks it by laughing, pointing at the Jounin teacher.

"He fell for it; he fell for it!" Naruto laughs with joy as he continues to point at him.

"I-I'm sorry, Sensei! I tried to stop him, but Naruto just didn't listen." Sakura says acting all innocent as the Jounin picks up the eraser.

"How should I put this? As for my first impression of you guys… well, I hate you." He says, and the four of them hang their heads. "Come follow me." Sasuke and Rio get up from their seats, and the Jounin walks back out of the classroom, and the four students follow after him.

NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC

Upon the roof of the academy building, the Jounin sits on the railing while the four students sit on the tiled ground in front of him, Sakura, Rio, Sasuke and Naruto looking at their Jounin teacher. "Let's see… First off, why don't you introduce yourselves?" He asks them.

"Introduce ourselves… what should we say?" Rio asks him.

"What you like, what you dislike, your dreams, hobbies. Well, things like that." He replies.

"Hey, hey. Before that, why don'tcha introduce yourself first, Sensei?" Naruto asks him.

"Me? My name is Kakashi Hatake. I don't really feel like telling you about my likes and dislikes. I guess I've never thought about dreams… and hobbies… well, I have a few." He introduces himself in the vaguest way possible.

"In the end, isn't all we know his name?" Sakura complains looking at the others.

"Yeah." They agree with the same disappointment.

"You guys are up. Let's start with you." Kakashi says and looks over at Naruto.

"My name's Naruto Uzumaki! I like cup ramen. But when I like even more is the ramen from Ichiraku that Iruka-Sensei gets me. What I dislike is the 3 minutes I have to wait after pouring in the hot water. My hobby is eating and comparing cup ramen! And my dream is… to become the greatest Hokage! Then, when that happens, the whole village has to respect me!" Naruto declares.

"Okay, next!" Kakashi says and looks at Sakura.

"I'm Sakura Haruno. What I like, I mean who I like is…" Sakura stutters out with a blush on her cheeks at Sasuke. "And my hobby is… well, my dream is to…" Sakura lets out a squeal.

"And? What about your dislikes?" Kakashi asks her.

"Naruto," Sakura answers glaring at said-boy who seems a little upset that his Sister's crush doesn't like him.

"You next," Kakashi says, looking at Rio who smiles.

"My name is Rio Haruno. My likes are training, gardening, reading, and being older than Sakura. My dislikes are sweet foods and bullies. My hobbies are training and gardening, along with reading different types of books. My dream, I've never thought of one." Rio introduces herself, and Kakashi seems intrigued by her answers with hope for the future.

"And, last but not least…" Kakashi points to Sasuke.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. There are a lot of things that I dislike, and I don't like anything in particular. Also… I have nothing like a dream, but what I do have is an ambition. The ambition to restore my clan, and to absolutely… kill a certain man." Sasuke announces, and a dead silence hangs around the group.

"All right! The four of you all have very unique personalities! We'll be doing a mission tomorrow." Kakashi informs them.

"Roger! What kind of mission, sir?!" Naruto asks him eagerly, excited at the thought of a real mission so early from graduation from the Academy.

"We're going to start with something that just five people can do," Kakashi says.

"What, what, what, what, what?!" Naruto repeats, showing his eagerness.

"A survival test." He answers.

"A survival test?" Naruto echoes in confusion.

"Why are we having a test when it's supposed to be a mission? We've had plenty of tests in the Academy." Sakura points out, feeling offended.

"This is no ordinary test," Kakashi replies.

"Then… then what kinda test is it?" Naruto asks, and Kakashi lets out a sinister laugh at the question.

"Hey, what's so funny, Sensei?" Rio asks him not understanding the funny side to this news or the question.

"Well. It's just when I tell you; you'll be surprised. Out of the 28 graduates, only 10 or 9 are going to become Genins. The remaining 19 or 18 will be sent back to the Academy. In other words, this exercise is an extremely difficult test with a failure rate of 66%." Kakashi explains seeming too pleased with this information as the four pre-teens look at him with different amounts of surprise on their faces. "See? You got surprised!"

"That's crazy! I've already gone through so much crap! Then.. then what was the graduation exam even for?" Naruto questions in upset.

"Oh, that? It was just to select those who have the potential of becoming Genin." Kakashi explains.

"What?!~" Naruto exclaims in frustration.

"Well, that's the way it is. I'll determine whether you pass or fail tomorrow at the training ground. Bring your complete set of Ninja tools! We meet at five in the morning!" Kakashi tells them.

"Sensei, may I bring my own weapon along with my Ninja tools?" Rio asks him, Kakashi looks at her in surprise, not having completed his reading on the four newbies and nods not seeing the harm on the bubbly little girl.

"Now then, you're dismissed. Oh, yeah, you'd best skip breakfast. You'll throw up." Kakashi warns them, and Rio brushes it off, and the four of them get up when Kakashi vanishes in a puff of smoke.

"Come on Sakura, we'd better get home," Rio tells her Sister, waving goodbye to Naruto and Sasuke. "See you tomorrow, Naruto, Sasuke."

NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC

The Haruno Twins arrive home to food on the table and their parents waiting for them; Sakura sits next to their Mother while Rio sits next to her Father, she notices Sakura pushing her food around the plate as the rest of them eat enjoying her Mother's food.

NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC

Rio wakes around 4:30 am to her alarm clock and gets up from her comfy bed trudging towards her closet to grab her clothes for the day, she dresses and stops when she hears shuffling from next door, her Sister's room.

NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC

Rio and Sakura walk down the street towards the training grounds, Rio eating an apple as they walk in the early morning. "Rio, Kakashi-sensei told us not to eat breakfast," Sakura complains, Rio continues eating savouring the fruit teasingly to Sakura.

NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC

The Haruno Twins walk to the training ground, with Naruto and Sasuke all very sleepy from the early awakening. "Morning." The Twins greet the boys with Sakura still rubbing at her eye.

Hours pass with no show of their Jounin teacher; they wait around for too long when Kakashi shows up. "Yo, folks. Morning!" Kakashi greets them as if he's not late.

"You're late!" Sakura and Naruto yell at their teacher.

"Well, a black cat crossed my path, you see." Kakashi fakes an excuse; he sees that none of his students believing his words and lets out a fake awkward cough. "Well, let's move on." He walks over to a tree stump placing a timer cloak. "Okay, alarms set for 12:00. Today's assignment is to take these bells away from me before noon." He shows them two bells on the end of two strings. "If you can't, you won't get lunch. You'll get tied to one of those, and I'll eat my lunch in front of you." He points to the three columns of wood on the training ground, the four of them all look at the columns feeling the effects of the no breakfast but Rio, who is thankful for the apple.

"But wait a minute. Why are there only two bells?" Rio asks, pointing to his hand.

"There are only two, so at least two will be tied to the logs. Those people will be disqualified for failing the mission. Then, they'll be sent back to the Academy. It might just be one person, or it could be all four of you. You can use your Shuriken. You won't be able to take these unless you try to kill me." Kakashi explains.

"But that's too dangerous, Sensei!" Sakura argues.

"That's right; you couldn't even dodge that chalkboard eraser!" Naruto taunts Kakashi.

"In this world, those who aren't skilled enough tend to complain more. Well, let's just ignore the loser…" Kakashi hits back. "We'll start on my mark." Naruto gets angry at Kakashi taking out his Shuriken from his back pouch, twirling it around his finger. He runs towards Kakashi, who grabs hold of Naruto's hand forcing him to turn around facing away, pointing the Shuriken still in his hand at the back of Naruto's head. Kakashi stands behind the shocked Naruto along with Sakura, Rio and Sasuke next to him even more upset at the sudden appearance. "Don't be hasty; I didn't say 'start' yet." The three others step away when Kakashi lets Naruto go of him; he steps away all of them, feeling the shock of the show of power from the Jounin. "But, well, it looks like you were trying to kill me, so that's good. How can I put this…? I think I'm finally starting to like you guys. We're going to begin now. Ready… start!" The four of them jump off to hide from the Jounin in the shrubbery.

NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC

Rio hides in one of the many trees, quickly assembling her Naginata trying to be quiet when she hears Naruto, she looks over to see him standing in the clearing with Kakashi. "Alright, let's have a fair fight!" Naruto exclaims, causing Rio to face palms mentally at the implication.

"Say, aren't you a bit weird?" Kakashi questions him just as surprised by the proclamation.

"What's weird is your hairstyle!" Naruto snaps before running towards Kakashi again, as he runs towards him, Kakashi reaches into his left side weapons pouch, Naruto reacts to the movement by stepping back to assess.

"Shinobi Battle Technique #1: Taijutsu." Kakashi comments, Naruto tenses up but Kakashi gets out an orange book from inside, tilting Naruto off his focus. "What's the matter? Come and get me."

"But… hey, hey! Why the book?" Naruto asks him, trying to remain calm.

"Why', you ask? Because I want to know what happens next? Don't worry. It doesn't matter if I'm reading if it's just you." Kakashi leaves him and the others listening in a hint, but all it does is anger Naruto though Rio registers it but brushes it off.

"I'm gonna rip you apart!" Naruto yells as he dashes towards Kakashi with a raised fist, lunging for Kakashi but he just raises a hand to deflect him with ease, Naruto lands on the ground again. "Damn it! Spin-kick!" He leans on his right foot, lifting his left in the air going for a kick but Kakashi crouches to the ground dodging out of the way. "Crap!" Naruto lands on the ground again and goes to punch Kakashi disappears. "Wha…?"

"A Ninja shouldn't let the enemy get behind him so much, idiot," Kakashi warns him, Rio and the others see the hand sign Kakashi is displaying.

"Naruto, get out of there quick! You'll get killed!" Sakura yells compromising her position.

"Too late." Kakashi comments as Naruto turns his head towards Sakura's voice then turns his head back to see Kakashi behind him. "Hidden Leaf Village Secret Taijutsu Technique: One Thousand Years of Death!" He sticks his fingers up into Naruto who flinches before jumping up high into the air.

"That's not a Ninjutsu…" Sakura whispers in distaste at the view in front of her.

"They're both idiots…" Sasuke mutters also looking at them in distaste.

"Poor Naruto…" Rio whispers wincing as Naruto lands in the stream.

"Alright." Kakashi goes back to reading his book as Sasuke moves to his weapon pouch, and Naruto swims up to the surface of the stream, throwing two Shuriken towards Kakashi, who doesn't even flinch as he lifts his hand catching them on his fingers. Naruto comes to the surface of the water, coughing up water from staying in there for too long completely drenched. "What's the matter? You won't get any lunch if you can't take a bell by noon."

"I've got that, ya know," Naruto complains as he looks up at Kakashi.

"You said that you'd be the greatest Hokage, but I'm really not seeing that…" Kakashi pokes at him.

"Damn it! Damn it! I can still fight, even if I'm hungry! I was just off guard earlier!" Naruto shouts as Kakashi walks away back to the middle of the clearing. "Damn it! I'm hungry, so my strength… but… I've gotta take a bell no matter what! No matter what! I… can't… turn back now! I'm gonna become a Ninja!" The surface of the water moves violently when several Naruto clones break the surface jumping high in the air. "You're sure of yourself! Now, Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!" They land on the clearing and run towards Kakashi who stands there, and the other three watch in surprise at the knucklehead.

"Not just Clones, but Shadow Clones?" Kakashi questions, as the Narutos stop in front of him in different positions. "Judging from what you can do, that technique should last for about a minute." The Clones all run for Kakashi when somehow one of them jumps onto his back. "W-what?! Behind me?!"

"A Ninja shouldn't let the enemy take them from behind. RIght, Kakashi-Sensei?" Naruto taunts him as the rest of the Clones jump on Kakashi as he tries to shake them off. "Using the Shadow Clone Jutsu, I had one of them come up from the river and sneak behind you. This is payback for my butt!" The real Naruto jumps in the air falling towards Kakashi ready to punch him, "Brace yourself!" when Kakashi swaps himself with a Clone, and Naruto hits him square in the face. "What?"

"The one who got hit was… Naruto?" Sakura wonders and watches as the Clones fall to the ground.

"You! You're Kakashi-Sensei, right! You used the Transformation Jutsu, didn't you?!" Naruto yells at him, and the rest of the Clones begin punching and kicking each other. "It's you! You're him! You smell like Kakashi-Sensei! The smell of an old guy! Hey! Let's try undoing the Technique! If we do that, there'll only be two left! What took you so long to think of that, idiot! You're me, idiot! Just undo the Technique!" Naruto continues arguing with himself and stops the Technique to see himself alone in the clearing badly beaten up when he sees a glint of silver in the grass by a tree. "He must've been in a hurry to drop one like that!" Naruto runs towards the fallen bell and just as he's about to pick it up a piece of rope wraps about his ankles, hoisting him up. "What the hell!?" He yells as he swings around. "Hey, hey, hey! The bell!" He tries to reach for it though he's too far off of the ground when Kakashi grabs at the bell.

"You have to think when you use a Jutsu. That's why it was used against you instead. Also, don't get caught in such an obvious trap, you idiot." Kakashi teases him, and this angers Naruto. "A Ninja must see through deception!"

"I know that!" Naruto yells angrily.

"No, listen, I'm telling you because you don't. Got it? Your movements are wasteful! You're so…" Kakashi tries to speak when Sasuke releases his Shuriken, hitting Kakahi in the side of his body.

"No way!" Naruto shouts in shock, "You idiot, Sasuke! You went too far!" A puff of smoke envelopes the falling Kakashi to reveal it's a log with the Shuriken embedded, Sasuke does the right thing and runs away to find another hideaway, Sakura knowing he's in trouble runs to find him.

She runs along the ground when she comes to a stop seeing a Clone of Kakashi reading his book and ducks behind a bush spying on him. "Sakura, behind you." Kakashi makes himself known.

"Huh?" She turns around to see him crouched behind her; she lets out a scream of shock.

NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC

Rio hears her Sister's scream and jumps to her feet, and runs towards him but stops in her tracks, thinking to herself and walks to a tree and climbs to a higher point.

"A Ninja must see through deception'? Damn it; I'm never going to fall for his crap again…!" Naruto grumbles to himself and gets out his Kunai slicing the rope around his ankles, he falls towards the ground but lands on his feet in a crouched position. When he goes to walk away, another piece of rope catches around his ankle hoisting him up into the air. "I fell for it again!"

Sakura stands facing Kakashi who puts her under a Genjutsu, leaves float around her rising high into the sky as she goes into a haze, she snaps out of it looking around the clearing expecting to see Kakashi still there, but he's gone. "Huh, what was that?" She questions herself and looks around frantically. " Hold on! Where's Sensei? Huh, what's going on? What's what?" She pulls at her hear when she hears Sasuke's voice come from within the trees.

"Sakura…" He calls out to her.

"Sasuke?!" She calls back and turns around to see an illusion of Sasuke bloody and leaning against a tree looking defeated.

"Sakura. P-please… help… me…" He requests desperation in his voice, but she's too in shock with tears pooling at her eyes that leak down her cheeks before she lets out a short scream and falls on her back, knocked unconscious from the shock. Kakashi up in a tree on one of the many branches still reading his book observed her reaction.

"Maybe I overdid it a little. But still, she should know if it's real or not…" Kakashi comments to himself, unaware that someone is watching him.

NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC

Further, in the trees Sasuke turns having heard Sakura's piercing scream, Kakashi stands some distance between him and the Uchiha. "Shinobi Battle Skill #2: Genjutsu. Sakura fell for it so easily." Kakashi comments.

"Genjutsu…? An illusory mind-controlling technique. No wonder she got caught up in it. However… I'm different from them." Sasuke replies with too much confidence.

"Why don't you say that after you get a bell? Sasuke, my lad." Kakashi comments as he pushes off of the side of the tree and walks towards Sasuke, the two of them face off. Sasuke makes the first move, going into his weapons pouch taking out his Shuriken throwing them towards Kakashi who jumps out of the way. "It's no use just using straightforward attacks," Sasuke smirks throwing another Shuriken towards a piece of rope, it cuts in half. " A trap?" Kakashi skids towards a tree and jumps out of the way of more oncoming Shuriken, Sasuke appears behind him. "What?" Sasuke jumps up, kicking at Kakashi, but he blocks the attack and grabs hold of his leg, Sasuke twists his upper body to punch Kakashi, but he blocks it again. Sasuke uses his other leg to kick him on the top of the head, Sasuke smirks as he tries to grab one of the bells, but Kakashi sees this and jumps away as does Sasuke and the two face off.

NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC

Sakura alone in the trees comes to, looking around confused. "What…? Was I…?" She wonders and lets out shrieks closing her legs thinking back to what had happened the image of the injured Sasuke in her head and get to her feet. "Sasuke! Don't die and leave me behind! Where are you!?"

NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC

Naruto continues to hang upside-down thinking to himself and looks down to see the lunchboxes on a bench in the distance. "So that's what it looks like behind the logs… the lunch boxes are on that rock! 'A Ninja must see through deception' eh?" Naruto says to himself and laughs.

NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC

Rio quietly steps onto a branch of a tree and sees Kakashi and Sasuke facing off one another and in hopes to gain some insight on how to get one of the bells. "Well, I'll admit that you're different from those two. Though I can't speak for the other one." Kakashi comments and Sasuke forms multiple hand formation with speed and stops.

"Horse. Tiger! Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke yells and pulls back as he holds his breath and holds his hand out as a tunnel allowing him to funnel the flames towards Kakashi, the flames roar with life as Sasuke continues but stops leaving a crate with a smouldering middle. Sasuke looks around once he notices Kakashi jumped away before the Jutsu, he looks all around him.

"Down here!" Kakashi's voice comes from below as Sasuke looks down at his feet, Kakashi's hand reaches through the earth, grabbing Sasuke's ankle.

"Wha-?" Sasuke gasps in shock at the raw power of this Jounin.

"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!" Kakashi yells up and pulls Sasuke down into the dirt only his head left above and Kakashi switches, crouching down looking at Sasuke. "Shinobi Battle Skill #3: Ninjutsu. How's that? Now you can't move, right? Although, you're already starting to make your mark. But, oh well. They say that the nail that sticks up gets hammered back down." Kakashi says and gets to his feet, pulling out his book beginning to read as we walk away.

"Damn it!" Sasuke curses to himself; a shadow looms over him, he looks up to see Rio standing over him with a smirk. "Rio, get him," Sasuke tells her, and she nods jumping away back into the trees with an unaware Kakashi.

NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC

Kakashi walks along through the trees as he reads his book and Rio tails him, she holds her Naginata in her left hand as she jumps to the next branch, she lands hard on the next branch gaining Kakashi's attention. He looks up into the trees spotting the pinkette alone in the trees; she smirks as if she expected this, he blinks up at her and looks around, finally seeing strings all around him. "Ah, Rio Haruno, the last one standing." Kakashi muses Rio pulls her Naginata from left to right. Kakashi sees the glimmer from the strings as they all move before the surrounding w can capture him he vanishes, Rio loses her smirk and looks around, Kakashi jumps down from a higher branch behind her. Rio turns around but puffs into smoke, Kakashi looks around but doesn't see her.

"Kakashi-Sensei, may I ask, why hide behind a mask?" Rio's voice echoes through the trees, Kakashi smirks under his mask, thinking she had given her position, but her presence completely vanishes then appears behind him as she jumps down behind him. "Hello, Kakashi-Sensei." She greets him overly smug as she swings at him with her Naginata, he jumps away from the sharp blade, before it can completely swing she turns it up before sharply pulling it down at the retreating form. He lands on the ground hard on his back, Rio jumps down on her feet hard cracking the earth from the force. "Sensei, that's not how you defend yourself." Rio jokingly scolds him; she flips her Naginata around in her hand. "Kakashi-Sensei, the point of catching you seems pointless." She grabs the bottom end of the pole and swings down towards Kakashi who looks at the approaching weapon with a wide-eye as the blade draws closer, Rio stops abruptly, looking around in confusion. Rio searches the trees allowing Kakashi to escape from her attack. The pinkette hears nothing as Kakashi gets up to his feet and knocks her Naginata from her hands, she feels the stinging of the kick but doesn't back down as she grabs hold of his offending foot and swings him using muscles no 12-year-old should have. Rio lets go of Kakashi, and he flies into the side of one of the trees, he catches himself before he impacts.

"I'm impressed, Rio, you've gotten farther than the others." Kakashi praises her.

"I know, I've been watching, taking note of their failures, but something doesn't make sense about this test. What is it?" She asks him, he smirks under his mask and rushes at her, she jumps out of the way, but he appears behind her before she can react and punches her down into the ground, she hits her head hard on the ground, her vision going fuzzy as she tries to get back on her feet. Blood drips from the cut on the side of her head, but she doesn't pay any mind, Kakashi watches her with admiration, but he needs to stop this fight quickly. Still, before he can do anything, Rio collapses from the earlier hit, Kakashi catches her before she lands on the ground, he gently places her on the ground as she's unconscious.

"You did good Rio." He whispers and disappears, leaving her as she slowly regains consciousness.

NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC

Naruto finally gets free from the ropes and runs over to the stone with the lunchboxes and sits down with them in his lap, giggling to himself unaware of his teammates' whereabouts or conditions. "I don't have to take those stupid bells. All I have to do is hide and eat. Let's eat!" Naruto says greedily.

"Hey," Kakashi calls out from behind him above as he crouches atop the stone.

"I was just joking." Naruto lies trying to get out of trouble.

"Too late!" Kakashi snaps in a low voice.

NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC

With Sasuke still only his head above the ground, scolding himself when Sakura comes through the bushes running but stops when she sees Sasuke's head poking out of the earth, they stare at each other for a moment. "Sakura," Sasuke calls out to her as she stares at him with wide eyes for fear of her earlier nightmare.

"Now it's a freshly severed head!" Sakura freaks out, and she falls back unconscious again, leaving a confused Sasuke.

"What's wrong with her?" Sasuke wonders and tries digging himself out of his hole and crouches over the unconscious Sakura when she gains consciousness again; she sees her crush looming over her, perfectly fine.

"Sasuke?" She says and gets up attacking him in a hug of relief. "You're okay!"

"Hey, get off me!" Sasuke tells her as he tries to get the fangirl off of him, he stands to his feet looking off towards the last place he saw Kakashi moving towards. "There's not much time left until noon. I'm going."

"Sasuke, are you still going after the bells?" Sakura asks him in shock, getting to her feet.

"I was able to touch them last time. Next time, I'll take them." He vows.

"What?! I-I see. You're really amazing, Sasuke. Uh… hey. There's really no time left… why don't we give up for now and try harder next time?" Sakura asks him, and he looks at her with a menacing look in his eyes, and she cringes under the intense gaze.

"I'm the only one who can kill that man," Sasuke mutters to himself thinking about his older brother.

"What? You mean Sensei?" Sakura asks, misunderstanding.

"I was crying, back then…" Sasuke mumbles.

"Crying?" She echoes in worry for her crush.

"My…" He can't finish his sentence.

"What…? What is it...?" She asks him.

"I'm an avenger. I must become stronger than him. I don't have time for setbacks." He says but the alarm sounds out through the forest, catching him off guard. "Damn it; I wasted my time talking."

"Sasuke," She calls out to him as he walks away back to the three logs.

NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC

Rio hears the shrill bell and groggily opens her eyes, seeing only a blur, she blinks, clearing her vision and gets slowly to her feet before strolling to the clearing sighing in defeat.

NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC

The three pre-teens walk from the tree line, Sakura sees her older Sister with blood down the side of her face, she gasps running to her Sister, hugging her arm in worry. "Don't worry Sakura; I'm okay," Rio assures her, and the twins walk over to their standing Sensei and sitting teammate not seeing Naruto tied up to one of the logs till they get closer and notice the three lunch boxes laying in front of him. The four Genin's stomachs all growl with hunger after the survival test went wrong for all four of them. "Your stomachs are growling, eh? By the way, about the results of this test… well, there's no need for you guys to return to the Ninja Academy." Kakashi tells the four who all have different reactions; Naruto gasps in glee while Sakura is in shock.

"What? All I did was pass out. Is that okay?" Sakura wonders before standing to her feet and cheering while Sasuke and Rio sit not believing that is the reason.

"Then… then! That means the four of us...!?" Naruto joins in with Sakura's cheers.

"Yes, the four of you… should quit being Ninja!" Kakashi tells them, and they all look at him in shock hearing this.

**Important Author's Note: As you may know every month on the 20th, I change my stories. Between the six: Bounty Hunter Series, The Strawhat's Red Devil, Twin Haruno Series, The Darkmore Series, and Explosive Love. I've been a little irritated with the fact that I keep forgetting notes on other story chapters and such so I have decided I will continue the six stories at a time and in the same rotation but with a different approach. The approach is that for example: if I am doing the Bounty Hunter Series, I will not be finishing on the 19th of January next year but will only jump to the next story if I have completed a Season, or Arc or even maybe a Saga. As you may know from my stories, I have not finished them and will go through them and finish them before starting over. If you have a comment on this, please tell me also thank you! I will be finishing the story on the 19th of December and starting my new schedule. DEADGIRLETERNAL OUT!**


	2. You Failed!

**You Failed! A Journey of Pain, Sharingan Warrior and Assassin of the Mist in the Forest of Chakra**

_**Land of Waves Arc - Episodes 5 - 10 (It's Long!)**_

**3rd POV: (Until declared otherwise)**

_The three pre-teens walk from the tree line; Sakura sees her older Sister with blood down the side of her face, she gasps running to her sister, hugging her arm in worry. "Don't worry Sakura; I'm okay," Rio assures her, and the twins walk over to their standing Sensei and sitting teammate not seeing Naruto tied up to one of the logs till they get closer and notice the three lunch boxes laying in front of him. The four Genin's stomachs all growl with hunger after the survival test went wrong for all four of them. _

_"Your stomachs are growling, eh? By the way, about the results of this test… well, there's no need for you guys to return to the Ninja Academy." Kakashi tells the four who all have different reactions; Naruto gasps in glee while Sakura is in shock._

_"What? All I did was pass out. Is that okay?" Sakura wonders before standing to her feet and cheering while Sasuke and Rio sit not believing that is the reason._

_"Then… then! That means the four of us...!?" Naruto joins in with Sakura's cheers._

_"Yes, the four of you… should quit being Ninja!" Kakashi tells them, and they all look at him in shock hearing this._

**NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC**

"Quit being Ninja?! Whaddaya mean?! Like, sure we didn't take the bells, but why've you gotta tell us to quit?!" Naruto explodes once the words leave Kakashi's lips and thankfully the blond is tied to the log as he wiggles around trying to break free.

"Because you four are just brats who don't deserve to become Ninja." Kakashi corrects them, letting them know how he sees it, it doesn't go over well with Sasuke as he runs towards Kakashi with anger in his eyes. Sasuke ready to strike the Jonin but he's more experienced and stops the green Genin in his tracks and pushes him down into the dirt.

"Sasuke!" Sakura calls out for her beloved; the others watch in shock.

"Point proven," Kakashi says as he holds the raven-haired boy to the ground sitting on his back with Sasuke's arms behind him stopping him from moving.

"Get your foot off Sasuke!" Sakura fumes at their sensei and Rio holds her younger sister back from trying to attack the Jonin.

"Do you think that being a Ninja is easy? Huh?" Kakashi challenges them, giving them a look and the four Genin all look at the elite Jonin in surprise by his words. "Why do you think we're training by breaking into teams?" He asks them.

"What do you mean?" Rio inquires stepping forward in front of her sister protecting her from the unknown of their sensei.

"In other words, you guys don't understand the answer to this test," Kakashi tells them.

"Answer…?" Naruto echoes unsure what the adult means.

"That right. The answer that determines whether you pass or fail." He explains a little more though it doesn't help clear up what the actual answer is for the Genins.

"That's… what I've wanted to ask about." Sakura voices with uncertainty.

"Geez, are you guys brainless or what?" Kakashi insults the four pre-teens. "Don't you get the meaning of the three/four-man squads?" Naruto makes a sound of protest and frustration.

"What _about_ four people being a squad?!" Naruto questions not getting what their Sensei is talking about just yet.

"That would be teamwork." Kakashi and Rio say together as it finally dawns on the other three Genin.

"You mean working together?" Sakura asks seeming a little clueless still.

"Exactly, but it's too late even if you noticed that now. You might have been able to take the bells if you four of you came at me at once. Well, that's too bad." Kakashi remarks easing off a little and Rio frowns at the Jonin hating the idea of not becoming a Ninja and that she didn't understand the meaning behind the test sooner.

"_Wait a minute."_ Sakura ponders on for a second. "Why use teamwork if there were only two bells? If the four of us were to take the bells with two people knowing they wouldn't get one, then the group would be torn apart instead!" She reasons not liking the idea of fighting against her sister.

"Of course! This is a test that tries to put you four against each other." Kakashi interjects, and this shocks the four pre-teens. "It's under such conditions where one's own interests aren't the issue. The intention was to select those who could prioritise teamwork. But you were all so pathetic… Sakura! You spent all your time worrying about Sasuke when Naruto was right in front of you!" He chastises the young Haruno. "Naruto! All you did was to act on your own!" The blond looks down feeling shame at his action, but a life of feeling like you're alone doesn't help. "Rio! You watched your teammates fail so you could learn from their mistakes instead of helping them!" The older pinkette cringes at the hurtful tone, but she feels she can learn from this like the rest of them. "And _you_ assumed that those three were only going to get in your way and did your own thing!" The Jonin looks down at the boy under him who frown feeling angry at the older man atop him hating his words. "Missions are carried out in teams. It's true that a Ninja needs to develop their skills individually. But, teamwork is considered much more important than that. Individual actions will disrupt teamwork and could lead the team into danger or even death!" He moves his hand to his weapon pouch on his back and takes out a kunai. "For example…" He shows the three others his kunai and places it dangerously close to Sasuke's neck. "Sakura! Kill Naruto, or else Sasuke dies! If she fails, Rio kill her!" He gives them an ultimatum. Naruto looks between Sasuke and Sakura with his jaw hanging in fear, knowing how in love Sakura is with Sasuke and looks to Rio who holds Sakura close to her as the younger pinkette's body shakes uncontrollably. "Is what will happen." Kakashi pulls the kunai away from Sasuke's throat, letting the Uchiha relax a little now his life is safe for now.

"Oh, you scared me!" Sakura sighs in relief, and they watch their Sensei twirl the kunai around his index finger.

"After someone is taken hostage, you're faced with a difficult decision and someone will be killed. In every mission, you put your life on the line." Kakashi informs them as he talks from experience and gets up from Sasuke, letting him go, walking over to the K.I.A memorial stone. "Look at this…" He tells his students, "The many names engraved into this stone." Sasuke gets up on his feet, feeling embarrassed with being taken down in front of the others but pushes it back as they watch their Sensei. "These are all Ninja who are praised as heroes in the village."

"That-that-that-that! I like thaaat! Now I wanna get my name put on there too! A hero! A hero! I'm not dyin' like a dog, ya know!" Naruto chirps from his spot as Sasuke walks over to the others.

"But, they're no ordinary heroes." Kakashi points out.

"Then, what kind of heroes are they?" Naruto questions but doesn't get an answer right away. "Hey! Hey!"

"They're heroes who were K.I.A," Kakashi answers him.

"K.I.A?" He echoes not getting the abbreviation.

"That stands for Killed In Action!" Rio explains to him, and his expression goes from cheery to sad hearing this from the older pinkette, and a sombre feeling spreads through the group.

"This is a memorial. My friend's names are engraved here too." Kakashi adds in feeling sadness spread through him, Rio holds onto her sister tighter in sorrow after a brief silence Kakashi looks over his shoulder at his students having a change of heart. "I'll give you guys one more chance. However, once lunch is over, I'll be pulling out all the stops! Only eat your lunch if you're up for the challenge. But don't let Naruto have any! It's his punishment for breaking the rules and trying to eat lunch earlier. If someone lets him eat… they will fail immediately. I make the rules here, got it?" Kakashi threatens them and Rio fights the urge to snap at the Jonin but she sits down next to Naruto with Sakura sitting next to her and Sasuke follows them taking the lunchboxes as Kakashi walks away from sight. The three pre-teens begin eating in front of their blond comrade who struggles not to show his hunger.

"I think we should make a plan of attack." Rio voices interrupting the peaceful silence as she stuffs some rice using her chopsticks.

"Rio, we have to eat first then we'll come up with an attack plan." Her younger sister scolds her, and Rio looks up at Naruto as he whines and his stomach makes a loud growling sound.

"I'm so fine with not eating lunch! No sweat, ya know!" Naruto boasts though his stomach tells a different story. "No problem…" Rio sighs and holds out her lunchbox in front of Naruto and picks up some food with her chopsticks holding it towards Naruto's mouth with a massive blush covering her cheeks.

"Here." Rio voices and Naruto sees her gesture and has a matching blush cross his cheeks.

"_Rio…"_ Naruto wells up as he looks at his long time crush and friend.

"H-hey Rio, Sensei just said that…" Sakura warns her sister as she looks around for Kakashi.

"Don't worry; he's nowhere to be seen. The four of us are going to take the bells together. He'll just drag us down if he's hungry." Sasuke reasons and Rio nods.

"_Sasuke…"_ Sakura ponders and agrees, handing out her lunch, unaware that Kakashi is listening to his students from behind a tree.

"Thanks," Naruto says.

"Don't thank me. Just hurry up and eat!" Rio tells him as she tries to get him to eat off her chopsticks.

"But…" Naruto protests weakly, but Rio uses that opportunity to stuff the rice into his mouth.

"Just eat the food, dummy!" She scolds him and gives him another mouthful which he happily swallows with a grin; she grins back when a loud bang comes from behind them, they look over to see a massive puff of smoke towering over them. Within the smoke, Kakashi hides until he's close enough and jumps out to spook the four Genin.

"You four!" Kakashi roars as he comes through the smoke towards us, frightening the Genin with the strong winds making it hard to move. "You broke the rules… I hope you're ready for the consequences!" He stands up straight and goes a few hand formations and thunder clouds roll in above them, setting the scene as a strike of lightning comes down from the heavens with a loud rumble following. "Any last words?" He asks them watching his students some cower in fear; some stand their ground.

"But…" Naruto stutters out trying to form the words.

"What?!" Kakashi questions him, giving him a menacing look.

"But! But! But! It's what you said! That's why these guys…" Naruto tries to say and looks over his teammates.

"We're a four-man squad, right?" Sasuke challenges as he looks at the Jonin, this sparks courage in Sakura as she stands her ground next to her sister.

"That's right! The four of us are one…!" Sakura jumps in.

"That's right! That's right! That's right! That's right, ya know!" Naruto exclaims loudly struggling against the ropes.

"The four of you are one, eh…?" Kakashi questions them getting closer.

"That's right, so back off!" Rio snarls feeling protective of her friends and sister as they get into fighting stance.

"You pass!" He approves, smiling behind his mask, leaving his students in confusion by his sudden change.

"Whaaat?!" Naruto yells as if he heard the Jonin wrong.

"You pass!" Kakashi repeats himself, but the pre-teens still in shock can't seem to process the news.

"We passed? Why?!" Sakura inquires not sure she should trust the words coming out from his mouth.

"You guys are the first. Up until now, it's been morons who just listened to what I said. A Ninja must see through deception. In the Ninja world, those who break the rules are called scum. But, those who don't care about their comrades are worse than scum." Kakashi explains to him his view on being a Ninja in this world; the four Genin look at their Sensei in awe.

"He's… he's… kinda cool." Naruto chokes up, tears welling up.

"That's it for the test. Everyone passes! Team 7 starts their missions from tomorrow!" Kakashi tells his students, giving them a thumbs up.

"Yes, sir!" The twins cheer hutting each other,

"I did it! I'm a Ninja! Ninja! Ninja!" Naruto cheers happily.

"Let's go home," Kakashi tells them not noticing Naruto still tied up to the log, and they walk off.

"_All right!_" Sakura cheers inside her.

"I _knew_ you guys would do this!" Naruto yells and Rio stops in her tracks and turns back towards Naruto as he struggles against the rope trying to break free. "Untie me, goddamnit!" He feels the ropes loosen and watches as Rio unties him with a smile, he returns the smile, and they run to catch up with their teammates.

**NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC**

A few days later after the final test to become Genin, Team 7 have only down a few D-Rank missions and are on another one now looking for a lost cat in the forest. "Sasuke here at Point B." He calls in.

"Sakura here at Point C." She calls in.

"Rio here at Point D." She calls in as they all get into position waiting for Naruto.

"Naruto here at Point A, ya know." He calls in finally.

"You're slow, Naruto." Kakashi scolds in a low voice as they talk through the wireless radios. "Okay, Team 7." He sees the cat moving fast through the trees. "The target is on the move! After it!" The cat lands on the ground and runs through the bushes, the four Genin peer out of their hiding places having sights on the target.

"Alright, he's over there." Naruto comments and the four of them move closer hiding behind some trees as Kakashi sits watching over them.

"What's the distance from the target?" Kakashi asks them with a bored expression on his face.

"Five meters, I'm ready to go," Naruto calls in.

"I'm ready too."

"Me too."

"Me three." The others call in lying in wait.

"Okay," Kakashi says and pauses for a tense second. "Go!" He orders them, and the four of them jump in with Naruto catching the squirming cat as it tries to break free from his hold.

"Gotcha!" Naruto exclaims in glee having finished the mission, and the cat tries to claw at his face as he holds it over his face and the twin watch giddy.

"Does he have a ribbon on his right ear? Is it our target, Tora?" Kakashi asks as Tora attacks Naruto and Rio pulls the furious cat off of the poor blond calming the feline the instant she holds him to her chest.

"It's the target, for sure," Sasuke confirms.

"Alright, operation 'Capture the lost pet, Tora' completed," Kakashi confirms and Naruto gets up rubbing the scratch marks from Tora and looks at the cat in Rio's arms with a mean glare.

"Isn't there a more exciting mission we can do?!" Naruto yells into the wireless radio almost making the Jonin deaf as he kills over from the loud noise coming from the small blond.

"Naruto!" Rio yells and throws Tora at the blond who yells out in shock as the cat scratches at Naruto. "That wasn't very nice of you; you could've made Kakashi-sensei deaf!" She scolds him and takes the cat from the blond, letting it calm down again in her arms as they walk back to their Team Captain.

**NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC**

The team makes it to the Ninja Academy to report back on their mission, in an abandoned classroom with tables set out. Rio reluctantly hands Tora over to the owner of the poor cat who squishes the feline in her arms. "Ohhh! My cute little Tora! I was worried to death!" Madame Shijimi cries out as she hugs Tora, almost killing the unfortunate feline, the others watch the exchange, Rio feeling terrible for the cat. However, Naruto laughs liking the look of dismay on the feline after he attacked the blond earlier.

"Serves him right, that stupid cat." Naruto giggles as he watches.

"No wonder he ran away." Sakura comments and Rio nods in agreement.

"Now then… the next mission for Kakashi's Team 7 is, babysitting Lord Yojyu's boy, grocery shopping in the neighbouring town and digging for potatoes." Lord Third lists off their next missions.

"No~!" Naruto shouts in protest, crossing his arms in front of him like an X. "No, thank you! None of that! Listen, I wanna do something, like, more exciting! Give us something else!" He protests loudly making a point.

"_He's got a point."_ Sasuke agrees but doesn't voice his opinion just yet knowing it'll get him into trouble.

"_Geez, he's such a handful."_ Sakura scoff as she frowns at the blond.

"_Don't push it, Naruto,_" Rio warns him as she looks at him in worry.

"_I thought it was about time for him to crack it…"_ Kakashi sighs to himself, looking worn out.

"You idiot!" Iruka scolds, his former student slamming his hands down on the table next to Lord Hokage. "You're still bottom newbies! Everyone starts with the easy missions to gain experience, to begin with!"

"I don't care! It's been nothing but dumb missions so far!" Naruto spits out, and Kakashi smacks him on the back of the head sending the blond to the floor.

"Knock it off." Kakashi scolds the blond.

"Naruto!" Lord Third calls out. "It looks like I need to explain to you what a mission is." Naruto sits up, rubbing his head. "Listen, a lot of clients come to this village every day, making requests from babysitting to assassinations. There's a large variety of requests on the list. They are separated into A, B, C and D-Ranks in order of difficulty. In the village, everyone below me is divided up by ability in order of Jonin, Chunin, and Genin. We at higher levels, distribute the requests as missions to Ninja who have the appropriate abilities. If the mission is successful, we receive the payment from the client." As he explains this, Madame Shijimi hands over the money, probably for the tenth time this month. "Still, you guys have just become Genin, so D=Rank is about the best you can do." He shows them the list for the day of D-Rank missions and notices that the others aren't listening as Naruto rattles on about something.

"I had tonkotsu ramen for lunch yesterday, so today I'm thinkin' miso…" Naruto tells the others who listen instead of Lord Third.

"Listen!" The Hokage demands, gaining their attention.

"I-I'm sorry," Kakashi apologises looking guilty about it.

"You're always naggin' at me, old man. But I'm not that little kid who used to pull pranks anymore!" Naruto protests and huffs feeling frustration turning around.

"I'm going to get yelled at later." Kakashi sighs to himself, and Iruka looks at his former student with a smile and even Lord Third laughs looking at how much he's changed.

"_That kid who could only express himself with pranks, he's now…"_ Lord third thinks and comes to a decision. "Okay, I understand!" He says, and they look at him in surprise. "If you insist. I'll allow you to take a C-Rank mission. You'll be escorting a certain someone."

"Really?!" Naruto asks, getting excited, turning around facing the Hokage. "Who? Who? The feudal lord?! Or… or a princess?!"

"Don't get hasty. I'll introduce him now. Could you please come in?" Lord Third calls out, and Team 7 turn around to door behind him, it opens to reveal an older man with a bottle of alcohol in hand seeming a little drunk to the pre-teens.

"What's this? It's just a bunch of damn kids!" The older man complains and takes a few gulps of his liquor; Naruto gets up on his feet as they look at the drunk who leans against the wall inspecting the team. "Particularly you, the short one with the dumb look on his face. Are you really a Ninja?" He asks point at Naruto though he's unaware it's him the drunkard is talking about, making him look.

"Who's the short one with the dumb face?" Naruto asks, and the three pre-teens stand closer to the blond showing that Sasuke is the tallest of hem with the Haruno Twins being the same height and Naruto out of the four being the shortest. Naruto realises angrily and tries to hit the old drunk man, but Kakashi holds him back from attacking the client.

"I'm gonna kill him!" Naruto yells struggling against Kakashi's hold.

"Don't kill the old man you're supposed to escort, fool!" Kakashi scolds him.

"I'm Tazuna, a veteran bridge builder." The older man introduces himself after taking another large mouthful of alcohol. "Once we've returned to my country, I'll have all of you protecting me with your lives while I complete the bridge." Rio gets a bad feeling from the builder's words, but for now, they accept the mission and head out to pack for their mission outside the village.

**NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC**

Rio walks into her room and gets out her backpack and begins packing all her clothes and herbs she may need for their mission along with some more weapons. Rio looks at the jars of herbs she packed, making sure she hasn't missed any she may need knowing what Naruto is like when overexcited.

**NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC**

The Haruno Twins walk over to the village's main gate with the rest of their team and Tazuna ready to leave the village which seems to excite the blond as the walk through the gates into the open forest path. "All right! We're off!" Naruto cheers as he steps outside the village.

"What are _you_ so excited about?" Sakura asks him not seeing the big deal; Naruto looks around overdramatically.

"Because I've never been outside the village before!" He chimes back as he looks around overexcited.

"Hey, will a brat like him really be okay?" Tazuna asks rudely point over at Naruto who hears the drunk.

"I'm a Jonin. I'll be watching him. There's no need to worry." Kakashi chuckles as the words echo around Naruto's head, making him sulk not liking the drunk older man.

"_This geezer is the work client ever. I'll show him a thing or two."_ Naruto thinks and turns around, pointing back at the drunk. "Hey, geezer! Don't underestimate Ninja, 'cause I'm awesome! I'm an elite Ninja who'll become the Hokage one day! The Name's Naruto Uzumaki! Remember it!" He vows, but Tazuna pays no mind as he drinks from his bottle of liquor.

"The Hokage is the village's number one Ninja. Right? You sure don't seem like one to me!" Tazuna insults the young blond.

"Shut up!" Naruto shouts at him. "I'm ready to do whatever it takes to become the Hokage! _Then_ you'll have no choice but to acknowledge my greatness!"

"I'll never acknowledge you, brat!" The drunk says back trying to rile up the pre-teen. "Even if you do become the Hokage." Naruto tries to attack Tazuna, but Kakashi holds onto him, stopping the raging blond.

"I'll kill you!" Naruto threatens him.

"I told you to stop, idiot." Kakashi scolds his blond student, and Tazuna walks off.

"No, no! At least let me have one shot!" The blond demands as he tries to get out of the Jonin's tight grip to the drunk unaware that two enemy Ninja.

**NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC**

The group walking for some time down the dirt path, having enough of the silence Sakura begins to ask the drunk bridge builder some questions. "Say, Mr Tazuna…"

"What is it?" He asks her with a rude tone that Rio doesn't like coming from the drunk.

"Your country is the Land of Waves, right?" She asks him.

"What about it?" He replies.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei. Are there also Ninja in that country?" She asks the Jonin.

"No, there aren't any Ninja in the Land of Waves. While culture and customs of other countries may be different, hidden villages and Ninjas exist there. To the many countries that exist on this continent, the existence of Shinobi villages is equal to the country's military strength. In other words, that is how they're able to maintain their relationships with neighbouring countries. Even so, the villages are not under the control of those countries; they are actually equal in rank. On a small island like the Land of Waves where it's difficult to be influenced by other countries, there is no need for a Shinobi village. Among the respective nations that possess a Shinobi village, the five lands of 'Fire', 'Water', 'Lighting', 'Wind', and 'Earth'. Due to their large territory and immeasurable power, they're called the 'Five Great Shinobi Nations'. The Land of Fire's _Village Hidden in the Leaves,_ the Land of Water's _Village Hidden in the Mist,_ the Land of Lightning's _Village Hidden in the Clouds,_ the Land of Wind's _Village Hidden in the Sand,_ and the Land of Earth's _Village Hidden in the Stones._ The leaders of these Hidden Villages hold the title of 'Kage'. The Hokage, Mizukage, Raikage, Kazekage, Tsuchikage, also known as the 'Five Kages', are Ninja that reign over the tens of thousands of Ninja that exist in their respective countries." Kakashi explains to his students in as much detail as possible, and Sakura gleams at the thought.

"Lord Hokage must be incredible!" She says but thinks. "_I wonder if that old geezer is really as incredible as he's saying… sounds fishy."_

"_Must be a lie."_ Naruto thinks as he remembers how he reacted to his Sexy Jutsu.

"Hey." Kakashi snaps at his Genin who stop. "You guys just doubted Lord Hokage, didn't you?" The two guilty parties shake their heads furiously, denying the accusation. "Well, don't worry." Kakashi places a hand on the Haruno Twin's heads as he walks towards the pinkettes. "There are no Ninja battles in C-Rank missions."

"Then there's no worry about running into foreign Ninjas." Sakura sighs in relief, but Tazuna knows better.

"Of course not," Kakashi assures her, chucking, though Naruto seems upset about the fact.

**NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC**

The group continues to walk along the dirt path and walk along a small wooden bridge over a small stream and continue along onto another dirt path; everything seems peaceful for the small group as they walk together when Rio sees a small puddle on the side of the dirt path. She frowns at the pool of water knowing it hasn't rained in a few days, Kakashi takes notice of the look on the older pinkette's face and follows her line of sight to see the puddle as well and smiles under his mask seeing hope for the older Haruno.

A man clad in black emerges from the puddle and runs towards the small group with his partner jumping from the trees, the two Mist Chunin aim for Kakashi trying to get him out of the way. The one that jumped out from the trees uses a razor-sharp chain, wrapping it around the Jonin as the second Mist Chunin follows and Kakashi is bound to the shock of his students and Tazuna. "What?!" Kakashi fakes a gasp of shock.

"W-what the…?" Sakura gasps in surprise, and worry for her Sensei.

"One down!" One of the Mist yells, and they both pull on the chains supposedly killing the elite Jonin, Sakura shrieks in fear as the others look on in horror.

"K-Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto calls out though he doesn't get a response from the pile of shreds in front of them. The two Chunin take the opportunity to speed around behind the blond, and he feels the killing intent coming from them freezing up on the spot.

"Now for this one…" The Chunin say, and Naruto stiffly turns around to see the two Chunin aiming at him, Rio and Sasuke jump towards Naruto and the two Chunin, Rio assembles her Naginata quickly in the air. Sasuke gets out a kunai and shuriken from his side weapon pouch and throws the shuriken towards the enemy's chains hitting it into a close-by tree, pinning it.

One of the Chunin looks back to see Sasuke above them, and he throws the kunai towards the already pinned chains hitting it further meaning they can't move as they try to break the chain free, but it won't budge. "It won't come off...!" Rio falls between the two Chunin the blade piercing the ground; she spins around the pole kicking her leg out knocking the two Chunin aside, she stops spinning and poses as Sasuke lands on the ground in front of her. The chains that attach to the bulky armour on the two Chunin snaps from the force, instead of going for the two Genin that attacked them they run around them towards Sakura and Tazuna. Sakura cowers in fear as the deadly Chunin comes towards them and the other goes for Naruto.

"_He's coming…!"_ Sakura freaks out, as one of the deadly Chunin comes closer. "_I have to do it… I have to!"_ Sakura steps in front of Tazuna to protect him, "Get back, Mister!" Sasuke hears her and turns around in time to see the Chunin getting closer and runs to step in front of the younger pinkette. Before the Chunin could do any more damage to the Genin, their Jonin leader pops up out of nowhere grabbing hold of the two Chunin by the necks. The Genin and Tazuna look at the Jonin in surprise as they thought he was dead.

"Yo." Kakashi greets them as if his rise from the dead was nothing.

"_Kakashi-sensei! He's alive!"_ Sakura cheers feeling happy that their sensei is alive and well and saved them from the deadly Mist Chunin.

"_Show-off."_ Sasuke pouts to himself not looking too happy about the Jonin popping up.

"_Could have waited."_ Rio sulks as she walks over, dragging her Naginata behind her and Naruto gets over his shock and turns to look at the pile of shreds they thought to be their Sensei.

"_Then, what was…?"_ Naruto wonders and sees small chopped pieces of wood lying around on the ground. "_Kakashi-sensei… used a substitution?"_

"Naruto," Kakashi calls out to the blond seeing he hasn't moved from his spot. "Sorry I didn't help you right away. You got hurt. I didn't think you'd freeze like that." Hearing that the blond was injured, Rio walks over slowly dismantling her Naginata, placing it into her thigh holder.

"_I was saved, somehow…"_ Tazuna sighs in relief but looks over to see Kakashi walk past towards the other two Genin.

"Anyway, Sasuke, Rio, good job. You too, Sakura." Kakashi praises his three students as Naruto stares blankly getting to his feet.

"_I… couldn't do anything. But Sasuke and Rio… It was their first real battle… and they weren't afraid at all? They saved me like it was nothing, and they didn't even get dirt on their clothes!" _Naruto thinks and looks over at the Uchiha and Haruno as they stand in front of him.

"Yo." Sasuke greets the blond. "Are you hurt? Scaredy cat?" He teases the boy, Rio slaps her best friend's arm, he hisses in pain from the assault.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yells offended by the teasing tone of the raven-haired boy in front of him.

"Naruto!" Kakashi scolds his blond student still holding onto the two Mist Chunin under his arms, snapping the blond to turn to look at his sensei. "The guys have poison in their claws. We need to hurry and extract it."

"What?!" Naruto shouts and looks at his open wound upon his hand.

"You have to open the wound and drain the poisoned blood. Don't move around so much or the poison will spread. By the way, Mr Tazuna." Kakashi says, and the drunk looks at the Jonin in surprise hoping he hadn't noticed that Chunin were after him. Rio walks over to a nearby tree and settles down her bag, getting out some bandages and a pot of Aloe Vera from her backpack.

"W-what is it?" The drunk asks the elite Jonin.

"I need to talk to you." He replies, looking over his shoulder at the bridge builder. Kakashi drags the two Mist Chunin over to the tree with Rio and ties them around the trunk stepping back with the others watching the enemy Ninja. "Chunins from the Hidden Mist Village. These Shinobi are known for continuing to fight no matter the cost."

"How were you able to detect our movements?" One of the captives questions.

"It hasn't rained at all lately, so why would there be a puddle on such a nice day? Rio also noticed this, didn't you?" Kakashi asks and looks at the older Haruno who nods her head though she was surprised Kakashi had noticed that she had seen it and the other Genins look at the pinkette in shock at her observation skills.

"Why did you let the kids fight when you knew that?" Tazuna asks the Jonin not understanding his methods.

"If I felt it, I could have killed these guys in the blink of an eye. But, I needed to know-" He looks over at the bridge builder standing next to him. "-who the target of these two was." Kakashi explains his reason for leaving his four Genin alone with the drunk bridge builder.

"What do you mean?" Tazuna asks, stepping back from the look coming his way from the Ninja who turns to face him completely.

"What I mean is, I had to know if they were after you, or one of us Shinobi, for whatever reason. We never heard anything about you being targeted by Shinobi. The content of the request was supposed to be protection from ordinary gangs, thieves and the like. This mission is a B-Rank or higher. The request was for support and protection until you finished building the bridge. If our enemies were to be Ninjas, the mission would've been an expensive B-Rank mission. It looks like you have your reasons, but it only troubles us if you lie in your request details. This wasn't a part of our mission." Kakashi explains, and the more he goes, the more guilty Tazuna feels for misleading them, but he had to as much as that may sound it is true.

"This mission is too soon for us. Let's quit. Rio needs to treat Naruto's wound to get the infected blood out. We have to return to the village and take him to a doctor." Sakura points out, but she's only scared of what may lie ahead for Team 7. Naruto looks at his bleeding hand and looks up at Kakashi who looks at him.

"THat's quite the problem. Let's go back to the village and treat Naruto's wound, then." Kakashi agrees which angers the blond and he takes out his kunai from his weapons pouch and stabs himself in his already injured hand, blood spills from the open wound and the others watch in shock at this act.

"_Why am I so different? Why is it always me? Damn it!"_ Naruto wonders and Rio steps forward him.

"Naruto, what're you doing?" Rio yells at the blond.

"I should be getting stronger! I've done a whole lot of missions, and I've practised my Jutsu every day! I'll never be in a situation where I have to get rescued again! I'll never be afraid; I'll never run away. I won't lose to Sasuke. I swear on the pain in my left hand! I'll protect you, old man… with this kunai!" Naruto vows to the group, and he turns around to face them with a look of pain that turns into a smirk. "The mission continues!"

"Naruto. It's good you got rid of the poison yourself, but any more than that and you'll bleed to death." Kakashi tells he young blond who starts to freak out going blue in the face, Kakashi walks around behind him smiling behind his mask. "It'll be bad if you don't stop it soon, seriously." That sets Naruto off as he swings his arms around in the air and Rio walks over with worry for the boy.

"No, no, no, no!" Naruto cries out, "I can't die like this!"

"Show me your hand," Rio tells him, getting her supplies ready.

"Nooo! Help me!" The blond cries out stopping and Rio takes his hand wiping up away the blood carefully then apply the aloe vera. Sakura walks over to her sister with hands on her hips as Kakashi watches his student care for the blond.

"Naruto. You're really self-abusive." Sakura scolds the blond as her sister tends to him. "That's masochistic, you know!" Rio looks at the wound as she's about to apply the bandages. She sees the wound beginning to heal already.

"_The wound is… already starting to heal."_ Rio marvels at the healing abilities of the blond Genin.

"Hey, hey…" Naruto calls out shaking in fear, and Rio snaps out of it looking up at the blond. She looks to her sensei, noticing he saw the same thing as her and looks back at the blond to see him shaking in terror. "Am I okay? You look real serious, Rio…"

"Well, you should be okay," Rio tells him and wraps the bandage around his hand.

"_Is this… the power of the Nine-Tails?"_ Kakashi ponders and watches his students for a second. "We need to get moving." He tells them, and they begin to pack up their things and get on their way towards the water where a boat waits for them.

**NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC**

The four Genin their Jonin sensei and the bridge builder board the small boat and make their way towards the Land of Waves. Fog rolls in the further onto the water the group sail in, the boatsman rowing instead of using his motor to keep quiet meaning they are closer. "The mist is so thick… I can't see ahead." Sakura comments, looking around though she can't see anything. Naruto sits at the front of the boat growing ever more agitated with the long wait as the others sit patiently waiting for dry land.

"The bridge should be visible soon." The boatman announces quietly. "When we reach the other side of the bridge, we'll be in the Land of Waves." The sail over towards the sizeable unfinished bridge, meaning they are almost there.

"It's huge!" Naruto exclaims, startling the others at how loud he is.

"H-hey! Please keep it down. We're trying to hide in the mist, that's why I'm rowing instead of using the engine! If we get caught, we'll be in deep trouble" The boatman warns the energetic blond who covers his mouth to stop himself.

"Mr Tazuna. I want to ask you something before we arrive at the pier." Kakashi tells the old drunk, staring at him, wanting answers. "Who were you assailants, and why were they after you? If you don't tell us, we can call off the mission once we get you ashore, Mr Tazuna." There's a small silence that settles over the group as they look at the bridge builder.

"It appears I have no choice but to tell you. I mean, I'd like you to hear it. Just as I said, this mission may be beyond your job description. In actuality, my life is being targeted by a terrifying man."

"A terrifying man? Who?" Kakashi asks.

"You guys have probably heard his name before. A shipping magnate by the name of Gato." Tazuna answers him, and the name seems to register for some of the group.

"Gato… the head of the Gato Company? He's one of the world's richest men!" Kakashi says in a little shock at the idea. The Gato having anything to do with the attempted assassination of the bridge builder.

"Who, who? What, what?" Naruto asks not knowing who this man is.

"Yes," Tazuna replies, ignoring Naruto. "On the surface, he's the chief executive of a shipping company. But in reality, he smuggles drugs and deals illegal goods using gangs and Ninja. On top of that, he runs a despicable business that ruthlessly takes over countries and enterprises. It was about one year ago… when that man first set his eyes on the Land of Waves. He used money and violence to enter this country, and before anyone knew it, he had taken control of the island's sea traffic and shipping. Controlling the ocean in an island nation like the Land of Waves means control over the wealth, politics and the people of this island. The one thing Gato fears… is the completion of the bridge. The bridge that we've been building." Tazuna explains.

"I see since you're the one building the bridge you've become an obstacle." Sakura realises pondering over what he's said.

"Then… those Ninja from before were Gato's men?" Sasuke guesses looking at his fellow Genin.

"But I don't understand. He's a dangerous man who makes Shinobi do his dirty work. Why did you hide that from us when you made the request?" Kakashi asks him not sure why the bridge builder requested them.

"The Land of Waves, it's a very poor country; even the Feudal Lords don't have much money. Of course, we don't have much money either. We can't afford to make requests for B-Rank or higher. Well, if you call off the mission when we land ashore… I will be killed for sure. On my way back to my family, that is. But hey, don't worry about it. If I die, it'll only make my adorable eight-year-old grandson cry and wail!" Tazuna tries to guilt-trip the Ninja. "And my daughter will only hate the Leaf for the rest of her life, grieving in solitude! But, of course, it won't be your fault." Kakashi looks at his students who feel the weight of guilt from the drunk bridge builder.

"Well, I guess we have no choice. We'll continue as your escorts." Kakashi agrees though he feels he has no choice.

"I am most grateful." Tazuna faints his gratefulness and turns to the boatsman giving him a peace sign. "_I won."_

"We'll be arriving soon." The boatsman announces, and they come closer to dry land. "Tazuna, it appears we haven't been noticed yet."

"Thanks," Tazuna says to the boatsman as they make it through the water canal towards land.

**NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC**

The boat makes it through the tunnel to the Land of Waves, the fog clears, and they look around to see the bright sky with houses and trees all around them. The group looks around to see the buildings worn down needing repairs badly, showing how poor this country is through as they pass along the canal. The small group makes it to port thanks to the boatsman and walk off the little boat onto the wooden walkway near some houses. "This is as far as I go. See you around." The boatsman tells them.

"Yeah, you've been a big help," Tazuna replies with sincerity.

"Be careful." The boatsman warns the small group before settling off using his engine, leaving the small group.

"Okay, get me home safely," Tazuna tells the Ninja, who turn ready to walk the bridge builder home.

"Right," They agree and walk off towards the drunk's home.

**NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC**

They make it through the rundown town and into the forest towards Tazuna's home, though Kakashi seems to be thinking of what is to come. "_The next time they attack, it won't be Chunin level, but Jonin. What a week…"_ He lets out a sigh of frustration and continues walking along the dirt path as Sasuke comes up alongside Naruto annoying the blond.

"_I'm not gonna let this guy get all the good parts."_ Naruto thinks as he looks at the raven-haired boy walking next to him and runs ahead a little, scouting the area and gets out his kunai and throws it having sensed something within the bushes. "There!" This action startles the others as they stare in the direction of the throw, Naruto gets up seeming to play it off. "Oh, just a mouse."

"Stop trying to show off! There is nothing there!" Sakura scolds the blond pointing at him as Rio tries to calm her younger sister.

"Please, Naruto. Don't use your kunai knives so recklessly! They're dangerous!" Kakashi warns his student though Naruto doesn't seem to be listening.

"Hey, brat! Don't scare me!" Tazuna shouts at the blond, but he keeps his back to the others and looks around.

"I sense someone over there! No, over there?!" Naruto yells and points over into the trees, and Kakashi senses a presence within the trees, going on high alert. "There!" Naruto yells and throws another kunai into the other side of the path. Rio can't hold her sister much longer, and she breaks free going after Naruto hitting him on the head.

"I told you to stop!" Sakura yells at him as she hits in on the back of the head, he holds his head in pain and turns to look at the young pinkette.

"S-someone's really been targeting us this whole time, ya know!" Naruto whines and Rio tries to pry her sister away.

"Yeah, right!" Sakura snaps at the blond. "Cut it out!" Kakashi goes to investigate as Sakura scolds the blond and finds a petrified white rabbit lying against the tree trunk through the bushes. The blond and the younger pinkette join the Jonin to see the poor terrified rabbit fallen victim to Naruto's kunai. "Naruto! Look what you've done!"

"It's a bunny!" The blond exclaims being clueless to what he'd senses and runs to the poor rabbit taking it into his arms. "I'm so sorry… I didn't mean to…. I'm sorry, bunny!"

"It's just a rabbit, oh?" Kakashi wonders watching his student dote over the rabbit in his arms.

"Kakashi-sensei, that's a snow rabbit, isn't it?" Rio asks her teacher who looks at her in surprise also recognising the breed and nods to confirm that she is correct.

"_But, that doesn't explain the colour of its fur. Its coat only turns white during winter when the days are short." _Kakashi ponders and feels a tense feeling overtake him. "_Which means… that snow rabbit was raised indoors without sunlight to be used as a substitution."_ The Jonin feels the burning of someone staring at the small group, Rio moves her hand over to her dismantled Naginata, feeling the dense tension coming over her. "_Guess they're here already."_

"I'm sorry!" Naruto continues to apologise to the animal and Kakashi senses movements and turns to face the others.

"Everyone get down!" Kakashi shouts at them, they all turn to see a large blade coming spinning towards them, they all drop to the ground as it spins above them into a tree behind them. A Ninja lands on the hilt of the giant sword clad in cow print and his mouth covered in a wind band. Kakashi gets up to look at the enemy Ninja to see the name emblem on his headband as the enemy Ninja stares down at them. "If I'm not mistaken, he's-"

"_Here we go! Here we go, here we go!" _Naruto yells in his head feeling ready to fight, Rio grabs the metal of her dismantled Naginata itching for a fight. "_This time I'll handle it."_ The blond spares a glare at the raven-haired boy behind him. "_I won't lose to Sasuke!"_

"Well, well, if it isn't the Rogue Ninja of the Hidden Mist, Mr Zabuza Momochi." Kakashi talks to the enemy Ninja casually walking closer with his hands in his pockets feeling laid back.

"_Rogue Ninja? Whatever right now I need to… get… going!"_ Naruto grows impatient and runs forward a little before Kakashi stops him holding his arm out in front of the blond.

"You're in the way. Get back, you guys." Kakashi orders the others, wanting them out of harm's way.

"Why?!" Naruto demands, growing frustrated with his sensei.

"He's on a totally different level than the guys we met before. If he's our enemy…" Kakashi warns his students and grabs his headband covering his eye, shocking the others as he lifts the headband. "I can't win like this."

"I assume you're Kakashi of the Sharingan then." Zabuza questions and this shocks the Uchiha as he stares at his sensei in surprise. "Sorry, but… I'll have you hand over the old geezer now."

"_Sharingan? What's that?"_ Naruto wonders never hearing of this before.

"_What? What is he talking about?"_ Sakura wonders and shares a look with her older sister who shrugs back never heard about this either. "_Is this guy strong?"_

"_Sharingan."_ Tazuna echoes never heard of it before.

"You guys, get into Manji formation." Kakashi orders his students, "Protect Mr Tazuna. Don't join the fight. That's the teamwork in this situation." He says and feels he's only talking the boys and Rio and pulls the headband revealing his hidden eye with a long scar over his closed eyelid and opens his eye revealing a deep red iris with three black spots. "Fight me!"

"_W-what's up with his eye…?" _Naruto wonders, staring up at his sensei.

"I never expected to see the famous Sharingan so soon. This is an honour." Zabuza taunts the Leaf Jonin.

"Everyone's all like 'Sharingan, Sharingan', but what is it?" Naruto asks not understanding.

"Sharingan. A form of the eye that generates power from its pupil. Users of this Visual Jutsu are said to have the power to see through all **Genjutsu**, **Taijutsu**, **Ninjutsu**, and are able to defect them. Sharingan is one of the various types of eyes that those with Visual Jutsu possess. However, that isn't the only ability of the Sharingan…" Sasuke explains his family trait to the outsiders.

"Correct. That's not all there is to it. What's more frightening is that the eye can understand how an opponent's technique works and copy them." Zabuza adds on and activates a thick fog to roll through the surrounding area. "When I was in the Hidden Mist ANBU unit, your information was listed in the Bingo Book that I would carry around with me. It was listed right there, the man who has copied over 1000 Jutsu. The Copy Ninja, Kakashi."

"_What? Kakashi-sensei is really that amazing of a Ninja?" _Rio wonders as she stares at the Jonin in awe.

"T-that's sick, ya know!" Naruto cheers from the sidelines.

"_What does this mean? The Sharingan is a special trait that appears in only a select few of the Uchiha Clan. could it be… he…?" _Sasuke wonders as he studies his sensei.

"Let's end the talking here. I've gotta be quick about cutting up that old fart." Zabuza says, scaring the builder and the four Genin run to cover around Tazuna with their weapons ready for any oncoming attacks. "But Kakashi, it looks like I have to defeat you first." Zabuza grabs hold of the hilt of his sword and pushes off of the tree bark and jumps away onto the water.

"Over there!" Naruto announces as he looks over his shoulder towards the water.

"He's on top of the water?" Sakura gasps in surprise as they watch the Mist Rogue as droplets of water swirl around him as he performs a Jutsu.

"_He's building up quite a bit of Chakra."_ Kakashi thinks and watches as the fog surrounding them becomes denser.

"**Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu!"** He performs and disappears into the dense fog with a single leaf floating down slowly to the surface of the water.

"He's vanished?" Naruto gapes in shock as Kakashi walks towards the water.

"Sensei!" Sakura calls out as she watches him.

"He'll try to eliminate me first," Kakashi tells his students.

"What is he?" Rio asks the Jonin.

"Zabuza Momochi. He was a part of the Hidden Mist ANBU and is known for his Silent Killing techniques." Kakashi informs his students warning them.

"S-Silent…?" Naruto gulps feeling fear seep through his body.

"As the name suggests, it's a killing technique that's executed in an instant of absolute silence. By the time you realise it, you may already be dead. I can't use my Sharingan to its fullest potential. So you guys, don't lower your guard." He warns his students, not seeing the serious looks on their faces. "Well, if you fail, you're only going to die."

"You're too casual!" Sakura snaps at him, and there is a tense silence around them as the fog gets thicker they can barely see inches in front of them.

"The mist is getting thicker, ya know!" Naruto points out, growing frustrated.

"The Land of Waves is surrounded by the ocean, so it fogs up pretty often," Tazuna explains, and the fog becomes worse they lose sight of Kakashi.

"Sensei!" Sakura yells out in worry.

"Eight spots," Zabuza speaks out of the thick fog, spooking the Genin.

"What?" The younger Haruno gasps, at the cold way he speaks.

"The larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular, collarbone, kidneys, and the heart. It's just a question of which one." Zabuza says within the fog, Kakashi needs to see better to have an advantage and uses his Chakra to clear away the mist from the surrounding area. The four Genin sense the strong Chakra coming from their Jonin but they also feel the powerful killing intent coming from the elite Jonin, and it shocks them.

"_What intense bloodlust. If I take even one breath… or even move my eyes, I'll be detected and killed. That's what it feels like. If this goes on for any longer, I'll lose my mind. Facing a Jonin's intent to kill… the feeling that my life is in someone's hand…" _Sasuke thinks to himself and shakes with fear feeling the intense power coming from his sensei and grips onto his kunai, trying to steady himself_. "No… I'd rather kill myself to escape this fellow!"_ He shakily grabs his kunai with his other hand.

"Sasuke," Kakashi calls out to his student snapping the raven-haired boy from his episode. "Don't worry; I'll protect you guys with my life. I'll never let my comrades die." The Jonin turns around, and you can almost see him smiling through his mask, and his students look at him in surprise at the statement.

"You think so?" Zabuza questions and appears between the Genins and Tazuna, shocking them further. "It's over" He stands straight, and Kakashi turns around to face the Rogue Ninja and jumps into the air with his kunai in hand, he lands in front of Zabuza clashing blades letting the Genins and Tazuna escape. Kakashi stabs into Zabuza's lower abdomen, and the look of shock on the water clone's face seems real, but Kakashi sees the clear water leaking out instead of the crimson blood. Behind, the Leaf Jonin stands the real Mist Rogue.

"Sensei! Behind you!" Naruto yells out seeing the Rogue Ninja. The water clone disappears as the real Zabuza swings his sword towards Kakashi.

"Die!" The Rogue Ninja yells as he swings his sword at Kakashi slicing him through the middle, for a second Zabuza believes he's successfully killed the Copy Ninja but sees just water meaning it was a clone. "_The Water Clone, Jutsu?"_ Zabuza questions, "_He can't have…" _He must have subbed the clone in when he was in the thick fog. "_In this mist… did he copy me?"_ Before he can turn around, Kakashi appears behind him holding his kunai blade to his throat.

"Don't move," Kakashi warns the Rogue from behind him, "It's over."

"Awesome!" Naruto cheers from the sidelines and the rest of the Genins seem relieved that it's over, but Zabuza appears to have other ideas as he starts laughing, startling the others at his change of attitude.

"' It's over,' is it?" Zabuza questions with a tense feeling in the air. "You don't get it. You won't be able to beat me by playing 'monkey see, monkey do'. I guarantee it." Kakashi narrows his eyes as Zabuza laughs again. "But you're not too bad. You'd already copied my Water Clone Jutsu when you used that line…" Remembering what he said to his students. "By letting the clone talk as if it were you, you diverted my attention to it. That's while the real one used the mist to hide and observe my movements… however…" Either a clone or the real Zabuza speeds behind Kakashi surprising him. "You won't bring me down just like that." Kakashi slashes the one in front of him, revealing it's another Water Clone.

"That one was was a fake too!" Naruto yells and Zabuza swings his massive sword at Kakashi who ducks down out of the way, Zabuza spins around moving his other hand onto the hilt of his sword after thrusting it into the dirt and kicks Kakashi away hard.

"_Now!"_ Zabuza grabs his sword and charges towards Kakashi and sees caltrops on the ground. "_Caltrops…" _ He stops in his tracks. "How foolish." He turns around and jumps headfirst into the water, where he sent Kakashi.

"Sensei!" Naruto shouts after Kakashi as the other Genins stare in shock.

"_Even Kakashi-sensei got… knocked through the air?!"_ Sakura shrieks in her head as she looks on.

"He's really skilled with Taijutsu, too." Sasuke comments.

Kakashi pops out of the water, his usual gravity-defying hair sopping wet and in his face as he tries to get up onto the water but feels the density of the water. "W-what's with this water? It's so heavy." Kakashi ponders when Zabuza comes up behind him and begins to before his Jutsu.

"Idiot!" Zabuza snaps and finishes his Jutsu. "**Water Prison Jutsu!**"

"Damn t!" Kakashi curses as water surrounds him in a sphere, trapped. "Escaping into the water was a bad move!"

"You fell for it." Zabuza taunts him, as he holds his hand in the water sphere keeping Kakashi inside the Water Prison. "It's a special prison that you can't escape from. It's harder for me when you're moving around, see. Now, Kakashi. I'll finish you off later. First I'll get these guys out of the way. **Water Clone Jutsu**." Zabuza uses one hand to perform the Jutsu.

"_I didn't think he was this strong…!"_ Kakashi worries for his students and Tazuna as another Water Clone emerges from the water.

Naruto's eyes widen in fear now that Kakashi isn't there to protect them and the cold laugh Zabuza gives them. "The four of you have headbands on like you're Ninja or something. But… a real Ninja is somebody who has been in countless life-or-death situations. In other words, only those who are listed in my Bingo Book deserve to be called Ninja." Zabuza says in a dull voice, and his Water Clone uses only one hand to perform another Jutsu. "I'm not calling little upstarts like you 'Ninja'." He does another Mist Jutsu, disappearing within the mist, meaning he's dangerous.

"_He's gone again!"_ Naruto panics, looking around in fright trying to find Zabuza but is too late as the Rogue Ninja kicks him in the face, he flies away his headband flying off his head. The blond goes flying skidding on the ground looking limp, and Zabuza steps on the blond's fallen headband as the older Ninja looks down on the Genins.

"You're just brats." Zabuza spits, and the remaining three Genin look in shock at their fallen comrade.

"Naruto!" Rio calls out to the blond and tries to run towards him, but Sakura stops her older sister.

"Guys! Take Mr Tazuna and run! You can't win against this guy!" Kakashi yells at his students fearing for their safety, and they also shake in fear at the Rogue Ninja. "As long as he has me trapped in this Water Prison, he won't be able to move. His Water Clone can only follow you so far away from its real body. Anyway, just get away for now!" He orders them, but some of the Genin are thinking differently.

"_Runaway?"_ Sasuke echoes not liking the idea, shaking a little but he stops smirking. "_Good joke. That option was gone from the moment you got caught. Even if we ran, Zabuza will catch up to us sooner or later, and since we won't have you… we'd be annihilated!"_ Sasuke looks at the situation in front of them with clear eyes now he's calmed down, and he shares a look with Rio who nods slightly going unnoticed by the others.

"_Even if we got back into Manji formation, it would be impossible to block his attacks. In the end…" _Rio looks over at the fallen Naruto who seems to be shaking. "...we have…" She looks at her younger sister who appears less frightened but still in shock. "_...no option left. In order for us to survive, our only option is to rescue you!"_

"We have to do it!" Sasuke says, having the same thoughts at the older pinkette. The Uchiha runs towards Zabuza with his Shuriken throwing them at the Water Clone, that knocks them away and before they return Sasuke jumps up out of the way. Zabuza's Water Clone looks up in the air to see Sasuke falling towards him. "NOW!"

"Too easy," Zabuza says, and as Sasuke gets close enough he grabs hold of Sasuke around the neck, the Uchiha struggles against the tight grip, and the Rogue Ninja throws the raven-haired boy.

"Sasuke!" Sakura cries out for her crush.

"Sasuke got…" Naruto sputters and turns back to look up at Zabuza as he stands over the blond. "_T-this is a Jonin… a real Ninja! I have to run. At this rate… we'll… seriously!"_ The blond shakes in fear feeling the killing intent coming from the Rogue. "_We'll be killed!" _He tries to get up, and he places his injured hand on the ground hard, and a stabbing pain shoots through him, and he remembers his vow he made not too long ago. Naruto looks back at the scary Rogue Jonin and looks down at his foot that's stepping on his Leaf headband and how d his headband is to him and what Kakashi said to them about being Ninja. "_That's right… I'm a Ninja now!" _He gets to his feet with the others behind him. "_And I decided that I wasn't gonna run anymore! I won't run!"_ He makes a run for it but in the directions of the Water Clone.

"I-idiot! Stop it!" Kakashi yells out to his blond student.

"Naruto! What are you thinking?!" Sakura cries out, clutching her head in angst.

"Fool." The Clone spits out, looking down at Naruto as he runs towards him and punches him away and he makes him bleed as he's sent flying.

"What are you thinking charging off on your own?!" Sakura snaps at the blond.

"Even Sasuke is no match for him. No matter how hard we try, there's no way that Genins like us…" Rio yells at him, worrying about the blond and sees him struggling to get up as he clutches his headband in his wounded hand. "_His headband?!"_ She looks at him in shock, but she knows how much it means to him, and she watches him shakily stand on his feet.

"Hey, you… the freak with no eyebrows. Put this in your Bingo Book. The man who'll one day be the Leaf Village's Hokage…" Naruto tells him and puts his headband back on. "...the Leaf-style Ninja, Naruto Uzumaki!"

"Naruto…" Kakashi mutters as he looks at his blond student.

"_When I first saw that little kid, he seemed so unreliable, but…" _Tazuna thinks, looking at the blond in surprise.

"Sasuke, Rio, lend me your ear for a sec!" Naruto calls back to the two.

"What is it?" Sasuke asks him.

"I have a plan," Naruto announces.

"_He came up with a plan in this situation? This guy…" _Sasuke turns to look at him, trying to seem superior as always. "Are _you_ talking about teamwork?"

"Like you're one to talk, Sasuke." Rio jokes as she stands next to her best friend.

"_What…? What is this? Has Naruto always been like this…? This must be how Rio sees him." _Sakura thinks and spares a look at her older sister.

"Now then. Let's get wild!" Naruto says and wipes away the trickle of blood down his chin, and there's a tense feeling around the group when Zabuza laughs again hearing what Naruto has said.

"You seem pretty sure of yourself, but do you _really_ think you have a chance?" Zabuza asks the blond.

"_T-this isn't good." _Kakashi thinks, and he shouts towards his students. "What are you guys doing! I told you to run! We lost this the moment I got caught! Hurry and run! Listen to me! Our mission is to protect Mr Tazuna! Have you forgotten that?!"

"Old man…" Naruto calls out to the bridge builder as he looks over his shoulder at the man,

"Well… I caused this in the first place… so I won't say that I wanna survive no matter what." Tazuna says and looks up at the Genins who all look at the older man. "Sorry, you guys. Fight as much as you want." He gives his permission to the Genins.

"You hear that?" Sasuke asks looking over at Naruto.

"Are you ready?" Naruto asks the other two.

"Born that way," Rio smirks, and again Zabuza starts laughing mocking the Genins.

"You haven't learned anything, have you?" The Clone asks the Genins, taunting them about being Ninjas.

"W-what?!" Naruto growls growing angrier at the Mist Rogue.

"You're still pretending to be Ninja? When I was your age, my hands were already stained by blood." Zabuza says, and the Genins cringe in fear, but Rio feels something else deep inside.

"Zabuza the Demon." Kakashi realises and looks at the Mist Rogue in surprise.

"You know my reputation, then," Zabuza comments not looking at the Leaf Jonin.

"A long time ago, the Hidden Mist Village was known as the 'Blood Mist Village'. They had a certain practice in order to become a fully-fledged Ninja." Kakashi explains to the others.

"So, you also know about our 'Graduation Exam'." Zabuza comments and the way he says the last part puts chills on the back of their spines.

"Graduation Exam?" Naruto echoes not getting the significance. "Hey, what is it? What Graduation Exam?" Zabuza doesn't answer right away as he laughs as if relishing in the memory.

"The students had to kill each other." He announces and the way he says it sends a chill down their spines. "Friends who had eaten from the same pot were separated into pairs and forced to fight each other until one of them died. Friends that had helped each other shared their dreams competed together."

"That's so cruel." Sakura whimpers and holds onto her sister's hand in fear.

"Ten years ago, the Hidden Mist's Graduation Exam was forced to go through a reformation. Because the year before, a bloodthirsty demon appeared." Kakashi adds on.

"A reformation?" Rio asks but gets nothing but silence. "Why did they?" She demands. "What did that evil person do?"

"A young boy, who hadn't even gained the rights to become a Ninja, relentlessly killed more than 100 of the examinees that year," Kakashi tells her instead of Zabuza and Rio looks at the Mist Rogue as he stands there still then looks up with a look on his face.

"That sure was… _fun._" Zabuza comments and the Genins cringe in fear and before they can move.

Zabuza rushes towards Sasuke hitting him back onto the ground and the Rogue elbows the fallen Uchiha in the stomach. The hit makes Sasuke cough out blood; the other Genins turn around in shock at their fallen friend who is now bleeding.

"Sasuke!" Sakura screams as they watch Zabuza step on Sasuke's stomach and grabs his sword's hilt as he presses down on Sasuke's stomach making the Uchiha gasp in pain.

"Die!" Zabuza snaps as he continues to push down on Sasuke's stomach, making him gasp in pain from the pressure.

"Damn it!" Naruto curses as he begins to before a Jutsu. "**Shadow Clone Jutsu!"** Dozens of Naruto Clones surrounding Zabuza.

"Oh, Shadow Clones? There's quite a few of them, too." Zabuza comments and the Naruto Clones all get out their Kunai ready to attack.

"Here, I come!" All the Naruto Clones say together, Zabuza leaves Sasuke for now and it allows the raven-haired boy to sit up shakily, looking on at the Naruto Clones as they all jump towards the Mist Rogue. Zabuza holds the hilt of his sword and the Naruto Clones all pile on top of the Rogue Ninja who swings his sword sending all the Clones flying.

"It's impossible, after all!" Tazuna comments. "There's no way that you can defeat that guy!" The Naruto Clones all go flying and one of them takes his bag off and searches inside.

"_This is the only way we can take him down!" _He thinks and throws a giant shuriken. "Sasuke!" He shouts out, and the Uchiha stands up and catches it, seeing what Naruto has planned.

"_I see! So that's your plan, Naruto! That's pretty smart for _you." Sasuke thinks and opens up the two shurikens quickly to hide the face. "Demon Wind Shuriken: Windmill of Shadows!"

"Your little Shuriken won't work on me." The Clone Zabuza says but Sasuke doesn't listen and jumps into the air and throws the Shurikens towards Zabuza passing the Clone heading towards the real Mist Rogue.

"_I see. So this time you're aiming for my real body. But…"_ Zabuza catches the first Shuriken in his free hand. "_... you're naive!"_ He sees the second Shuriken coming towards him, and he's stuck in the middle. "_A Shuriken in the other's shadow? This is… the Shadow Shuriken Jutsu." _

"_A second Shuriken in his blind spot?" _Sakura thinks in wonder as she watches the Shuriken gets closer, but he jumps up letting the Shuriken go under him.

"_But… you're _still _too green." _Zabuza snarls as he jumps.

"_He dodged it!" _Sakura shrieks in worry not understanding what the real plan is from the boys.

The Shuriken poofs showing the real Naruto with a Kunai in hand shocking the others as he readies to throw the Kunai at Zabuza. "Take this!" Naruto yells throwing the Kunai at Zabuza who has to release his hold on the Water Prison and the Kunai hits the Water Clone, making it disappear and cuts the real Zabuza under the eye drawing blood. Zabuza turns around spinning the giant Shuriken in his hand, growing angry.

"You damn brat!" Zabuza snaps and goes to attack Naruto, but Kakashi stops him, putting his arm in the way of the Shuriken cutting the flesh, making him bleed. Naruto falls into the water behind them; the others smile, seeing their Sensei free from the Water Prison.

"Kakashi-Sensei!" Sakura calls out to him, happily, and Naruto breaks the surface of the water, smiling thankfully that his plan worked.

"Naruto. That was an impressive plan. You sure have grown. All of you." Kakashi comments and Naruto giggles happily to hear the praising words of his sensei.

"I didn't use my Shadow Clones to take down Zabuza, but to hide that I transformed into a Demon Wind Shuriken, ya know! I left one clone behind, then transformed into a Demon Wind Shuriken. Then the clone threw the real me to Sasuke, while I was transformed. Sasuke noticed it was me right after he caught me. Then he took out his own Shuriken and used the Shadow Shuriken Jutsu. Hidden in the shadow of the real Shuriken, I aimed straight for Zabuza. Of course, I didn't think I'd be able to take down Zabuza, but I thought I could at least destroy the Water Prison. We ended up getting his Water Clone, too! It was a huge success!" Naruto explains seeming giddy.

"It was just luck." Sasuke comments and Rio nudges his shoulder smiling.

"It was luck?!" Tazuna exclaims in disbelief.

"_Still, they managed to pull off such great teamwork in a situation like this. Even though they hated each other…" _Sakura thinks and looks between the two boys.

"I broke my Water Prison Jutsu thanks to that distraction." Zabuza comments in his stand-off with Kakashi.

"That's not it. You didn't cancel the technique. You were forced to, right?" Kakashi says and gives the Mist Rogue a look.

"I'll tell you now; the same technique won't work on me twice. What will you do?" Zabuza asks, and there's a tense feeling in the air.

"Sakura, stay alert," Sasuke warns the younger pinkette and the two of them move in front of the Tazuna. "Rio," He calls out to the older Haruno, and she nods in conformation.

"**Earth Style: Rampart of Flowing Soil."** She says and uses the hand signs quickly, and the ground begins to shake underneath the four of them, and it rises into the air high enough to keep them out of harm's way. The other three watch in shock at the small pinkette full of such potential Chakra and that she performed a B-Rank Jutsu.

Zabuza uses the distraction to press down hard on Shuriken embedded in Kakashi's hand, making the Jonin wince in pain and pulls his hand back a little before pushing it back, throwing the Shuriken clear. The two Ninjas leap away into the air, and Zabuza begins to perform a Jutsu and Kakashi activates his Sharingan eye. "Sharingan!" Sasuke announces in surprise as the two Ninjas land on the water and Zabuza starts performing his Jutsu.

"_**Ushi, Saru, U, Ne, I, Tori, Ushi, Uma, Tori, Ne, Tora, Inu, Tora, Mi, Ushi, Hitsuji, Mi, I, Hitsuji, Ne…"**_ Zabuza begins, and Kakashi joins in copying him. "_**Jin, Saru, Tori, Tatsu, Tori, Ushi, Uma, Hitsuji, Tora, Mi, Ne, Saru, U, I, Tatsu, Hitsuji, Ne, Ushi, Saru, Tori, Jin, Ne, I, Jin. Saru, Tori, Tatsu, Tori, Ushi, Uma, Hitsuji, Tora, Mi, Ne, Saru, U, I, Tatsu, Hitsuji, Ne, Ushi, Saru, Tori, Jin, Ne, I… Tori!" **_They both finish at the same time, and the water in front of them stirs, rising from the sea forming Dragons. "**Water Style: Water Dragon, Jutsu!" **The Dragon shaped water column swirls around each other than crash down into the base causing big waves, Naruto gets swept up still in the water, but the other four are safe up on higher ground. The Dragons swirl around each other fighting and biting at each other.

The others watch the two in awe. "_He formed that many seals in just a few seconds… and so perfectly." _Sasuke marvels as water rains down on them.

"_W-what is this? Is it a Ninjutsu?" _Sakura wonders.

Naruto breaks the surface of the water and watches the two Ninja standing on the water engaged, Zabuza using his sword to hit Kakashi who uses his kunai to block the attack. "_Strange… what's going on...?"_ Zabuza wonders as he thinks back to before. "_The Sharingan is supposed to have the ability to memorise and copy the enemy's technique… but… we both executed the Jutsu at the same time… could this guy…" _The two jump away from each other and the two of them run around swapping places, Kakashi begins copying Zabuza as they start performing another Jutsu. Zabuza stares in shock at Kakashi as he sees the way he's standing as if looking in a mirror, the others look on from their viewpoint in surprise.

"The exact same movements… and with such perfect timing!" Tazuna blurts out as he stares at them.

"What's going on, Sasuke?" Sakura asks him as she watches over the fallen Tazuna.

"_This bastard…" _Zabuza snarls as he glares at Kakashi. "_My movements… he's completely… "_ He moves his arm down.

"Reading them," Kakashi speaks, finishing the Mist Rogue's thoughts.

"_What? He's reading my mind? Damn it! This guy…"_ Zabuza freaks out as they slowly continue to copy each other.

"Has such goddamn awful eyes, right?" Kakashi finishes what Zabuza is thinking.

"You're just copying. Nothing original up your sleeve." He growls.

"You won't be able to beat me, you damn monkey!" They both day together, he speeds up his hand signs a little.

"I'll shut that goddamn copycat monkey mouth of yours for good!" Zabuza snaps, and he continues to do the hand signs and sees a shadow appear behind Kakashi. "_What? Me?"_ As it becomes more evident, it was a mirror image of him standing behind Kakashi in the same stance as him. "_T-there's no way! Is this his Genjutsu?" _He looks dead in Kakashi's Sharingan eye.

"**Water Style: Giant Vortex Jutsu!" **Kakashi finishes before Zabuza as he activates his Sharingan.

"W-what?" He sputters as he stares in front of him as a swirl of water moves in a circle in front of the silver-haired Jonin and it becomes more significant and speeds towards Zabuza. "Impossible!"

The water engulfs the Mist Ninja and sends him in a strong current along the way. "I _was just about to perform that technique!"_ The powerful stream of water cuts into the surrounding trees and ground, Rio looks over at Sasuke with a look but he won't look at her as he already knows the look she's giving him. "_I can't keep up with… his Jutsu!"_ Zabuza tries to keep up with the current, but it's too overpowering, and it washes Naruto ashore.

The Giant Water Vortex stops and leaves Zabuza pressed against a tree from the harsh waters, Kakashi not leaving anything to chance and throws a few Kunai at the Mist Rogue stabbing him in his limbs. "It's over…" Kakashi announces, and the water recedes leaving a significant dip in the ground, Zabuza looks over his shoulder up at the Leaf Jonin as he crouches on a branch above his head.

"Why?" Zabuza asks him, "Can you see the future?"

"Yeah." He answers the Rogue as he looks down at him. "You're going to die." He holds up his Kunai in a threatening manner, but before Kakashi can even move, two Senbon Needles hitting him in the side of his neck, deep enough to spill blood. Zabuza seems surprised by the attack along with the others. Kakashi looks over towards another tree in the direction of the Senbon Needles and sees a Tracker Ninja standing there as Zabuza falls to the ground dead.

"You're right. He died." The Tracker Ninja says in a monotone voice.

Naruto makes his way out of the water and looks down to see Zabuza lying on the ground his eyes open, face frozen in shock. Kakashi jumps down next to the still form of Zabuza, checking for a pulse, he checks twice to be sure, Rio lowers the ground back to the same level as before, and they watch their Sensei with a tense feeling. "He's definitely dead." He announces to the others and looks up at the Tracker who bows at him.

"Thank you very much." He says as he bows. "I've been waiting for the chance to kill Zabuza."

"That mask…" Kakashi comments as he looks up at the Tracker. "You're a Tracker Ninja from Village Hidden in the Mist."

"Impressive, you seem to know your stuff." He replies and Naruto skids in front of the others seeming ready for a fight.

"Tracker Ninja?" Naruto asks seeming eager to fight.

"You don't know what a Tracker Ninja is?" Rio asks the blond, who looks back at her.

"You should have learned it at the Academy?" Sakura tells him.

"Tracker Ninjas pursue Rogue Ninjas, like Zabuza who turn against the Village where they were born and raised; once somebody leaves the village, Tracker Ninjas go after them and assassinate them." The older Haruno explains.

"To avoid the secrets of the village being leaked, that is. That's common knowledge. You should study more!" The younger Haruno finishes scolding the blond a little.

"That's right." The Tracker clarifies. "I'm a member of the Hidden Mist's Tracker Corps whose mission is to hunt Rogue Ninja."

"_From his height and voice, I'd say he's the same age as Naruto and the others. A Tracker Ninja, huh?"_ Kakashi ponders as he looks over the kid. "_He's no ordinary kid."_ Naruto runs up towards the Tracker Ninja standing in his viewpoint and looks back and forth between the Tracker and the dead Zabuza angrily.

"Who the hell are you?!" Naruto demands points up at the Tracker breathing heavily. "Spit it!"

"Calm down, Naruto. He's not an enemy." Kakashi assures him standing up.

"That's not what I'm askin' him! Look! That Zabuza… he managed to kill _Zabuza_!" Naruto yells and Kakashi walks towards the angry blond. "He… he was so frickin' strong… but he just got wiped out by a kid who's like me! We just look so damn stupid now!" The others look at the blond understanding how he feels as his anger turns into sadness, to shame. "I'm not puttin' up with that!" Kakashi steps in front of the blond, and he stops his rant and looks up at the Jonin.

"Well, I understand how you can't believe it," Kakashi tells him and bends down to stare at the blond. "But… this is reality." Naruto seems to understand in some sense and Kakashi ruffles his hair. "In this world, there are kids who are younger than you… yet stronger than me." The others can hear him, and Sasuke thinks on that last statement, Naruto huffs turning his head not wanting to look at his Sensei. The Tracker uses a Wind Style Jutsu to disappear and reappear next to Zabuza's body; he lifts his arm over his shoulder, trying to support the dead weight.

"Your battle is over, for now. I must get rid of this corpse. I can't allow the secrets it holds get out, after all. Now then, if you'll excuse me." He uses the same Jutsu and disappears with the body.

"He disappeared." Naruto gapes, Kakashi seeing there is no danger puts his Sharingan away, the blond runs off towards the tree but stops.

"He's not here anymore," Kakashi tells him, Naruto feeling defeated fall to his knees and begins punching the ground in anger.

"What was all this for?! What the hell _are_ we?!" Naruto continues to punch the ground.

"Naruto…" Rio whispers in worry for her friend.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" Naruto curses and Kakashi not wanting his student to permanently damage his hands walks over to him. As he's about to take another swing at the ground, Kakashi grabs his elbow, stopping him.

"Things like this happen when you're a Ninja. If you don't like it, make up for it next time." Kakashi advises him and lets his elbow go and turns to the others. "Our mission hasn't ended yet. We must take Mr Tazuna home."

"Sorry about that, everyone!" Tazuna laughs with a cheeky grin. "Feel free to take it easy at my place!"

"All right, let's cheer up and get going!" Kakashi exclaims and begins to walk off but stops as he feels the draining effect of overusing his Chakra and falls flat on his face. His students run over to see what's caused their Sensei to fall unconscious in worry.

"W-what? What's wrong?" Sakura wonders as she looks down at him.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto calls out to him, and there is no response. "Kakashi-sensei!"

"Naruto calm down." Rio scolds him and the blond stops talking, and Rio rolls up her sleeves. "Sasuke help me lift up Kakashi-sensei." The raven-haired boy looks at her confused but listens to her, helping picks up an arm. They get their Sensei in a sitting position, the older pinkette in a swift movement moves her small arms under the unconscious Jonin's knees and supports his back, lifting him into the air. The others look in shock at the small pinkette as she holds the full-grown adult with ease. "Please show the way, Mr Tazuna." The drunk nods without saying a word and begins walking with the others following behind in awe at the sight of the strong pinkette.

**NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC**

The group made it to the village where Tazuna lives and his home where Rio could finally let Kakashi peacefully rest as she tended to him along with Tazuna's daughter. A few hours later, Kakashi finally woke up not knowing how he got there but grateful nonetheless. "_It seems I've overused my Sharingan."_ Kakashi ponders as Tsunami walks over, seeing that he's awake.

"Are you alright, Sensei?" She asks him as she leans over him as he lies on the floor covered up with blankets.

"No, I'll barely be able to move for a week," Kakashi tells her as he tries to sit up but struggles a little.

"Then you should probably take it easy." She tells him and remembers what the older pinkette had said.

"O-okay," Kakashi hesitantly agrees and lies back down when his students and Tazuna walk into view.

"Sensei's away, ya know!" Naruto cheers happy to see him awake finally and they walk inside the room.

"Come on! Your Sharingan might be awesome, but if it puts that much strain on your body, it may not be worth it." Rio scolds her sensei for worrying her more than anything.

"S-sorry." Kakashi struggles to apologise from exhaustion.

"But, you know… he did defeat a really powerful Ninja. We're probably okay for a while." Tazuna comments and Rio remembers what that kid Tracker said to them before he left.

"Speaking of which, that kid with the mask… what was he?" Sakura wonders even though he looked like a Tracker, they weren't initially sure that was true.

"He was an ANBU from the Hidden Mist. He was wearing the special Tracker Ninja squad mask." Kakashi explains.

"Special squad?" She echoes never hearing of them.

"They're commonly called the 'fire extinguishing corps', and their job is to erase any evidence a Ninja was alive. A Ninja's body can reveal a variety of things like Ninjutsu secrets and Chakra characteristics from their village, given the composition of secret medicine used on a body. For instance, if I were to die, the secret of my Sharingan would be investigated. And in the worst case, there's a possibility that my techniques could be stolen. In other words, Tracker Ninjas are killing Rogue Ninjas who've abandoned their village and dispose of their bodies, in order to prevent secrets of the village from being exposed. They're specialists." Kakashi explains in more detail,

ut something doesn't sit well as he thinks over the last thing that happened before he passed out. "_What is this? Zabuza is dead… so why am I feeling so uneasy? It feels like… I've missed something."_

"What's up? Sensei?" Naruto asks the silver-haired male.

"Oh, what I was talking about earlier… Tracker Ninjas always take care of the bodies as soon as possible…" Kakashi points out, going through the facts.

"So, what about it?" Sakura asks, not seeing where he was going.

"What did that kid with the mask do with Zabuza?" He asks the others.

"How should we know? That masked kid took Zabuza away." Rio points out, getting where he was coming from now.

"That's right. If he needed proof, he simply could've taken the head." Kakashi says, and Rio catches on.

"And the other problem is, the weapon that the Tracker Ninja kid used to kill Zabuza," Rio adds before Kakashi can, and he looks at seeing the glint in her eye, she thought the same as him.

"Regular Senbon Needles… no way." Sasuke hops into the same thought path as the other two.

"Yes, way apparently…" Kakashi sighs but the other three don't seem to understand.

"What are you guys talking about?" Tazuna asks them.

"It's possible that Zabuza is still alive," Rio confirms, and the other three look at her in complete shock.

"What?!" The other three shout in surprise at the news.

"What?" Tsunami questions, completely lost at what is going on.

"Whaddya mean?" Naruto demands not seeing the connection.

"But Kakashi-sensei, you made sure that he was dead!" Sakura argues.

"You're right; I did make sure." Kakashi agrees with her.

"But he was probably just in a state of near-death. The Senbon Needles that Tracker Ninja used have a very slim chance of killing unless they hit a vital spot. They were originally used for medical treatments like acupuncture. Tracker Ninjas know all about the structure of the human body. Putting people into a state of near-death is probably textbook stuff for them." Rio explains, and Kakashi nods at her knowing she was ahead of her classmates.

"Firstly, he went to the trouble of taking Zabuza's corpse, which was probably heavier than him. Secondly, he used Senbon. A weapon with a low ability to kill. From those two factors, we can guess that kid wasn't aiming to kill Zabuza, but to save him." Kakashi finishes the explanation.

"Aren't you reading too much into it?" Tazuna asks the Jonin.

"No, once a Ninja feels that there's something wrong he must prepare himself before it's too late. It's one of the Shinobi's iron rules." Kakashi explains and looks at Naruto who seems happy with the prospect of Zabuza being alive and the Tracker being his ally. "_To think he'd be happy to hear that Zabuza might still be alive…"_

"Sensei, how are we going to prepare before it's too late," Sakura asks him. "You can't even move for a while." Kakashi laughs a little, and they look at him, confused.

"I'll make you train," Kakashi tells them.

"W-wait a minute! Even if we train, we're not gonna be that strong. Our opponent is a Ninja who was hard for you to fight, even with your Sharingan!" Sakura argues. "_Are you trying to kill us, damn it?!"_

"Sakura, who was it that saved me during that difficult battle? You've all grown very quickly, especially you, Naruto." He tells them and looks at the blond who looks up at him. "You've grown the most." The blond looks at his Sensei with happiness at hearing the words of praise he so looks forward to the most.

"_He does seem somewhat stronger than before, but…"_ Sakura thinks to herself as she looks to the blond next to her. Sakura looks over at her sister who sits on the other side of the blond with a noticeable blush on the pinkette's cheeks.

"So you noticed, Kakashi-sensei? Now it's getting interesting!" Naruto exclaims in excitement.

"No, it's not!" A voice jumps in, and they turn around to see a small child with a hat covering his brunette hair wearing dark green dungarees with a solemn look on his face.

"Who are _you_?" Naruto asks, pointing at the small boy.

"Hey, Inari! Where have you been?" Tazuna asks his Grandson, and the boy runs over hugging the drunk.

"Welcome back, Grandpa!" Inari greets the drunk.

"Inari, what kind of greeting is that? These are the nice Ninja who escorted your Grandpa?" Tsunami scolds her son.

"It's okay; it's okay. Right, Inari?" Tazuna asks the small boy who stares at the four Genins.

"Mum, they're gonna die. There's no way they can fight Gato and win." Inari argues as he looks up at the woman.

"Say what, you little brat?!" Naruto snaps, getting up feeling angry at the disbelief coming from the kid. "Listen! I'm a superhero who's gonna become the Hokage, an awesome Ninja! I don't care 'bout this Gâteau or Chocolat or whatever they're called, but they don't scare me one bit!"

"A hero? You idiot. There's no such thing." Inari argues seeming to have a dislike for that word.

"W-what did you say?!" Naruto yells and goes for the little kid, but Rio grabs hold of him to stop him from pummeling the poor boy.

"Stop it, you!" Rio yells at him as he struggles in the strong girl's arms.

"If you don't wanna die, you'd better go home," Inari says his last bit and begins to walk out of the room.

"Where're you going, Inari?" Tazuna asks the boy as he opens the door and turns to look over his shoulder.

"I'll be looking at the sea." He replies and leaves the room.

"Sorry 'bout that," Tazuna says, and Naruto grumbles as Rio lets go of him making him fall to the floor.

"Sorry, Naruto." She apologises as she looks down at him and helps him to his feet.

"It's okay, Rio, accidents happen." Naruto blushes as he gets up and runs out of the room.

"What's wrong with him?" She wonders.

**NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC**

Naruto runs down the hall towards the stairs leading upstairs and walks up wanting a word with Inari. "Damn it!" He grumbles as he makes his way, "That brat… I'll teach him a thing or two!" He makes it upstairs and towards Inari's room but hearing the sound of crying, he peeks inside the room to see the boy on top of a wooden desk with the window open overlooking the sea as he sits on top crying. "_He's crying?"_

"Dad…!" Inari cries as he holds onto a picture of his father.

**NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC**

Team 7 make it to the nearby Forest for Kakashi's training, standing around as they watch their Sensei stand with crutches to help him walk. "We'll now begin training," Kakashi announces.

"Yes, sir!" Naruto exclaims feeling excited.

"But before that, let me go over Chakra, the fundamental power for a Shinobi, again," Kakashi informs the group.

"At this point?" Sasuke asks him feeling disappointed at the delay of their training.

"We already got all that, ya know! Chatra, right?" Naruto questions getting the name wrong already.

"It's _Chakra!_" Kakashi snaps at the blond who looks at him feeling silly.

"Take it away, Haruno Twins," Kakashi says and points over at the pink twins as they stand next to each other on his right.

"Listen, Naruto. We'll explain this simply to save time." Sakura starts, and Rio gets out a scroll and opens it to show the diagrams inside.

"Chakra is the energy that a Shinobi needs when using Jutsu," Rio explains and Sakura points at the diagrams as Rio moves on.

"It's made of: 1) Physical energy, gathered together from each and every cell in the body," Sakura explains as she points at the human body diagram.

"2)Spiritual energy that comes from a lot of training and experience. In other words, Jutsu comes from combining these two energies from within the body. This process is called 'weaving Chakra'." Rio adds in showing more diagrams on the scroll.

"And with this Chakra, one is able to use a technique by forming a Seal." Sakura finishes and poses in a Common Seal.

"Correct!" Kakashi exclaims happily to hear that his students understand and learned something in the Academy. "Wow, Iruka-sensei was blessed with excellent students." The Haruno twins smile at each other.

"Whatever! Even if you don't get all that complicated stuff, you can just remember it with your body, right?" Naruto argues not understanding the importance of the lesson.

"Naruto is absolutely right. We're already able to use Jutsu." Sasuke agrees with the knucklehead.

"Nope, all of you still aren't able to use your Chakra efficiently," Kakashi tells them though he feels that Rio isn't part of that group. Still, he wants to test it out first.

"What?!" Naruto yells in shock at the words coming from the silver-haired Jonin.

"Well, just listen up. As Sakura and Rio explained earlier, moulding Chakra means combining both the physical and spiritual energies within the body and mixing them together. On top of that, the amount of each energy will change based on the technique you want to use. You are not able to use your Chakra effectively. Even if you're able to build up a large amount of Chakra, if you're not able to control the balance, your technique will not only be half as effective, but it may not be activated at all. Wasting energy can create a weakness that will prevent you from fighting for a long time." Kakashi explains in more detail.

"S-so what should we do?" Naruto asks his Sensei.

"You need to learn to control the Chakra with your body. It's difficult training that requires you to put your life on the line." Kakashi tells them, and there's a tense feeling in the air for the Genins.

"W-what will we do?" Sakura hesitantly asks.

"Tree climbing," Kakashi answers.

"Tree climbing?!" The four Genins exclaims in surprise.

"That's right. But not any ordinary tree climbing. You'll climb without using your hands." Kakashi explains the training.

"What? How?" Sakura asks, not understanding.

"Well, just watch." He tells them and does a seal allowing Chakra to follow down into his feet; he hobbles with his crutches towards the nearest tree putting his foot on surprising the Genins as he continues to walk up the side of the tree.

"He's climbing" Naruto mutters in shock.

"With just his feet… sideways…" Sakura adds as they watch the Jonin walk onto a branch upside down.

"Well, something like this. Focus Chakra to the bottom of your feet and stick them to the tree trunk. Even this kind of thing is possible if you use Chakra." Kakashi informs them.

"Wait a minute! How does something like that make you strong?" Rio asks.

"Now we get to the main point. The aim of this training is to weave the required amount of Chakra in the right location. This is difficult even for expert Ninja. The amount of Chakra used for tree climbing is very subtle. And the most difficult place to gather Chakra is said to be at the bottom of the feet. In other words, if you master that control, it will be possible to master any technique… in theory, that is. The second point is to maintain woven Chakra. Ninjas will mostly weave Chakra during battles. That situation happens to be the most difficult for the control and maintenance of Chakra. Well anyway, nothing's gonna happen if I sit here going on about it. You'll need to learn this physically, kids." Kakashi finishes explaining and gets out four Kunai before throwing them at the Genins' feet. "Use those Kunai to mark on the tree the highest you can climb at this point. Then try to mark higher and higher as you go. You guys aren't good enough to just walk up from the start, so run to give yourself a boost to get used to it. Got it?" Naruto grabs the Kunai from the dirt ready for this training along with the others.

"What's with this training? This is nothin' to me, ya know!" Naruto claims, feeling very positive. "After all, I'm the guy who's grown the most here!"

"Thanks for the info. On with it! Try climbing any tree!" Kakashi tells him.

"_All right, first I need to gather Chakra on the bottom of my feet, yeah?"_ Naruto goes over it again in his head as the Genins all do the seal. They close their eyes as they visualise the Chakra flowing down into their feet. "All right, let's go!" They make a run for it, and the four Genins run towards the four trees in front of them. Naruto uses too little Chakra and falls after both his feet leave the ground. Sasuke makes it further up the trunk of his tree but uses too much and makes the bark crack; he leaves his mark before flipping back down.

"_I didn't think it'd be this difficult to maintain a constant amount of Chakra. If there's too much, I get pushed back. But if there's not enough, you don't stick, and you end up like that…" _Sasuke thinks it through as he looks at Naruto on the ground rolling around holding his head in pain.

"_Well, the difference between Naruto and Sasuke seems about right."_ Kakashi ponders as he watches the two boys on the ground.

"This is pretty easy." Sakura comments.

"Too easy." Rio joins in laughing, and the boys look up to see Sakura up in her tree sitting on a high branch then look over to see Rio even higher standing on the tree as she continues to walk.

"S-Sakura! Rio!" Naruto yells in surprise, and the Haruno twins giggle.

"Oh? It looks like the two with the best Chakra control is our young Haruno twins." Kakashi comments and Rio moves to stand upside down on a high branch.

"Awesome, Rio! That's the girl I set my eyes on for ya!" Naruto yells not realising that Rio hears him and catches her by surprise making her as red as a tomato. "_It still kinda pisses me off, though…"_

"Damn it." Sasuke curses under his breath looking away, feeling irritated at the fact that two girls beat him, though he knows Rio is on the same level as him.

"_Why does this always happen instead of Sasuke noticing me…?"_ Sakura wonders and Rio looks over at her younger sister in worry.

"Well, not only do you have your Chakra smarts, your control and stamina are pretty good as well." Kakashi comments. "At this point, they might be the closest two to becoming Hokage… unlike a certain someone…" Naruto looks up knowing he's talking about him. "And it looks like the Uchiha Clan isn't all that, after all." He stabs at the two boys trying to get them motivated.

"Shut up already, Sensei!" Sakura yells at the Jonin pointing at him. "_Sasuke's gonna hate me now!"_ She pouts, and the two boys look at each other, sparking a rivalry, a competition between them.

"_Having said that, Naruto and Sasuke. Those two have an incredible amount of Chakra somewhere in them that's a far cry from Sakura's but maybe not Rio. If this training goes well, it'll be a huge asset to them." _Kakashi ponders and looks over at Rio as she walks over to her twin hugging her, sensing the potential from the older Haruno.

"All right! First I'll be catching up to Sasuke. Too easy!" Naruto cheers feeling pumped and he runs up the trunk of the tree again giving a battle cry making a way up before falling, bumping his head again. Rio runs over to the blond as he cradles his head and looks over at the others seeing Sasuke has made progress, and her twin is lying on the ground panting for breath and looks over to the others.

"_I'm spent. How much stamina can those three have?"_ Sakura wonders and looks up at Naruto's tree to see the progress he's made. "_But of course, Naruto hasn't improved at all. It's about time he gave up and threw a tantrum." _Naruto gets up and thrusts his arms in the air.

"Damn it!" He snaps angrily growing frustrated, Rio looks up at him as she continues to sit.

"_Thought so! He sure is easy to read."_ Sakura thinks to herself, but she looks on as he crouches down to look at her sister.

"Hey, listen… can you give me some tips?" He asks the older Haruno.

"Huh?" Sakura wonders as she watches the two of them.

"Let's keep it from Sasuke. Yeah? Okay?" He asks her with a big smile; she smiles back at him, Sasuke looks over at them as does Kakashi.

"_He's getting stronger and stronger. How far can he go? But, Naruto… the amount of Chakra you could have is probably more than Sasuke's… and even surpasses mine. I can't wait to see it."_ Kakashi thinks to himself and looks at the smiling Naruto and looks at Rio. "_So much potential for Rio, she can master a B-Rank Jutsu, her file wasn't lying she could do anything if she put her mind to it."_ He smiles under his mask feeling nostalgic as he looks at the two of them seeing the blush on their cheeks.

**A/N: I got a comment on the pick of name, and I wanted to clarify that yes, Rio doesn't sound like a Japanese name, but here it is! **_**(RIO (2) **__**莉央**__**, **__**莉緒**__**, **__**里桜 **__**(f) Japanese - From Japanese **__**莉 **__**(ri) meaning "white jasmine" or **__**里 **__**(ri) meaning "village" combined with **__**央 **__**(o) meaning "centre", **__**緒 **__**(o) meaning "thread" or **__**桜 **__**(o) meaning "cherry blossom". Other kanji combinations are also possible.)**_ **I've gone for the meaning for Cherry Blossom like Sakura, her younger twin sister. Also as you can see I'm doing four episodes in one which is like doing 3 to 5 chapters in one as I want to make the chapters longer also making this book shorter, so they will be longer. Sorry! DEADGIRLETERNAL OUT! **


	3. Battle on the Bridge, Zero Visibility

** Battle on the Bridge, Zero Visibility: A Hero Joins the Fight! Haku's Secret Jutsu**

_**Land of Waves Arc - Episodes 11 - 15**_

**Rio's POV: (Changed my mind?!)**

The next day, Kakashi-sensei orders Sakura and me to look after the drunk and his workers on the bridge, Naruto and Sasuke were a little childish as they still have the Tree-Climbing Training. The workers seem energetic as they chat and work quickly, probably because of the threat of Gato hanging over their head. The energy seems to be lost on my little sister as she lets out a yawn stretching next to me as she sits to the side as I stand with my arms behind me. Tazuna walks over to us with a beam over his shoulder. He seems less of a drunk now, but still, I can see why Naruto doesn't like him a little. "It looks like you've got some time to kill there you two all by yourselves," Tazuna comments as he walks past. "What happened to the blond brat and stuck-up kid?" He asks about Sasuke and Naruto; I have to say even with Sasuke as my best friend, he does come across as stuck-up.

"They're in the middle of Tree-Climbing Training," I inform him.

"You don't have to do that?" He asks us.

"We're over-achievers, so Kakashi-sensei told us to guard you." Sakura 'modestly' boasts about having completed the training already.

"You sure?" The drunk builder questions not seeming confident in our skills, which angers my dear sister.

"What?!" She growls at him, and I see one of his works walk up to him as I try to calm her down.

"You got a minute, Tazuna?" The worker questions as he walks over to Tazuna as he places another beam down.

"Huh? What's up, Gichi?" Tazuna asks the man who seems nervous about what he's about to say next.

"Uh, actually… I gave it a lot of thought, but… can I quit building the bridge?" He stutters out.

"What's this out of nowhere? Not you too?!" The boozer snaps and I hear the last part, and it makes sense why with Gato hanging over their heads day after day with the threat of death.

"Tazuna, we've been friends for ages. I'd like to cooperate, but if we push it too far, Gato will set his sights on us too. Also, if you get killed, everything is lost! Why don't you just stop the construction?" Gichi tells him, and there's a tense pause as the man waits for Tazuna's answer.

"Not a chance," He replies bluntly, "This is our bridge. This is the bridge that everyone in town has built, believing that it can generate distribution and transportation to our poor land that barely has any resources."

"But if it goes so far as to take our lives." Gichi retorts back angrily.

"It's already lunchtime. Let's call it a day." He says and walks past him brushing the man off.

"Tazuna!" He calls after the drunk.

"Gichi, you don't have to come anymore." He tells him over his shoulder, said man looks like a weight is on his shoulder rather than the other way around.

"Poor man," I hear Sakura mutter to herself as she watches Tazuna walks away.

"_This place needs this bridge more than anything."_ I think to myself as I watch the workers.

**NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC**

The day is ending, Tazuna, Sakura and I make our way back to the house through the village. I can't help but wonder what Naruto and Sasuke are doing and hoping they have completed their training. "Hey, where are we going?" Sakura asks the drunk, which snaps me out of my wandering thoughts.

"I was asked to get some ingredients for dinner on the way home." Tazuna replies and I see a man walking towards us, holding a sign asking for work. I look around to see two boys around our age sitting on the side of the street looking terrible; they probably hadn't eaten anything for days.

"_Why would anyone let children suffer like this." _I ponder to myself, and we make it to the shop.

"This is it," Tazuna announces, and we walk inside.

"Welcome." The vendor calls out to us as we walk in and I look over at the display of food in the wooden shelves. There is barely anything, a few vegetables lying there and I can't help but feel guilty for the fortunate way Sakura and I grew up, with full bellies and smiles. Suddenly, Sakura yelps in surprise and turns, kicking a man in the face, causing him to fall hard.

"You freak!" She screams as he falls.

"No… I wasn't…" He tries to tell her but falls unconscious on the floor, Tazuna laughs as he walks over to us having bought the items he wanted. I drag my sister out as we make our way back to the house.

**NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC**

"You really surprised me back there," Tazuna comments as we walk along the street with people around us as we make our way through.

"What's going on with this town?!" Sakura cusses and stomps down the dirt road when I feel someone grab onto the back of my skirt. I yelp in surprise and turn around angrily along with my dear sister. "Hey, you…!" But we stop as we see a small child standing looking as surprised as us and it turns into a smile as he holds out his hands.

"Gimme some!" He begs with a smile, and I feel the guilt, along with my sister.

"Oh… here." Sakura rifles through her bag and I take out some of my seeds that are good for harsh clay soils like this. Sakura hands the small boy some sweets in his hands which earns a big smile of thanks, and I place the bag of seeds along with some instructions.

"These are vegetable seeds, they work well in clay soil like this, take them and water them a little every day," I tell him, and he hugs me with his tiny arms, I smile and pat him on the head, he pulls away with a bright smile. "It may take a week or so, but there is enough for some time, but by then the bridge will be built."

"Thank you!" He replies and runs off down the street, dodging the other people.

"This is how it's been since Gato showed up. All the adults have turned into cowards." Tazuna says, and I hold my sister's hand as she wipes the tears from her eyes. "That's why the bridge is necessary. It's a symbol of bravery. A symbol to restore the defeated people of this land, so they stand up instead of always running away. That bridge… if we could just finish it… this town will return to how it once was. And everyone will come back!" I look at my sister, and we nod in agreement to help this land and stop Gato.

**NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC**

**3rd POV:**

Naruto squats in front of his tree as he looks at Sasuke as he jumps down from his tree, scaling and gritting his teeth. "_Goddamn… No! No!" _He curses and shakes his head to clear his thoughts. "_If I let myself get distracted by Sasuke, I'll lose focus, ya know!" _He calms himself down and remembers what Rio had told him before.

"_Listen up, Chakra uses up spiritual energy, so you can't get all tense or too worked up. Relax, and concentrate on the tree so that you can constantly accumulate a fixed amount of Chakra at the bottom of your feet."_ He remembers her words.

"_Concentrate… concentrate…"_ He mutters to himself and Chakra forms at the bottom of his feet. "_Alright, this is feeling good! Okay! This is it!"_ He goes to move.

"Hey, Naruto!" Sasuke calls out to him, and Naruto falls on his face from the distraction losing his grip on the soil beneath his feet.

**NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC**

**Rio's POV:**

We made it back to the house and Tsunami made us all dinner as I helped her, the boys made it back in time with Kakashi-sensei sitting at the table, having found the energy. Everyone is seated at the table as we eat the meal Tsunami prepared for us, as she washes the dishes. "Man… this is really fun! It's been a long time since we've had a meal with this many people!" Tazuna exclaims, and I look next to me as Naruto stuffs his face along with Sasuke and the two finish their foot, standing up with their bowls out.

"More, please!" The two of them yell together, and they look at each other with a mean look and then throw up all the food they'd just eaten. Thankfully Naruto went to his right near Sakura rather than me who was on his left though I feel a little sorry for Inari and Sakura.

"Quit eating if you're just gonna throw up!" Sakura scolds them angrily.

"No, I'll eat," Sasuke replies, wiping his mouth.

"I'm gonna eat, even if it hurts… 'cos I gotta get strong as quickly as possible" Naruto replies, and I can't help but smile at the boys' drive.

"That's the spirit! But if you vomit it up." Kakashi-sensei comments and I have to agree, but the boys get some more food in them that they don't throw up after they cleaned up the throw-up and we have some tea. Sakura gets up from her place and walks over to the torn picture on the wall, I noticed that they all seemed happy, but for some reason, they tore the right top corner.

"Excuse me, why is there a torn picture hanging here?" Sakura asks the family. "Inari was looking at this all through dinner. This torn part looks like someone was deliberately torn out." With that said, the small family all tense up and I find it suspicious as they seem to be hiding something.

"It's my husband." Tsunami answers not looking at us as she continues washing the dishes.

"He's a man who was once called a hero of this town," Tazuna tells us, and Inari seems not to want to hear anything from the man and jumps out of his seat, which his mother seems to notice.

"Inari! Where are you going?" She asks him, but he doesn't answer as he storms out of the room, closing the door behind him and she runs after him but stops as she opens the door, looking over at the drunk.

"Dad! I'm always telling you not to talk about him in front of Inari!" Tsunami snaps at her father before running after Inari, leaving a tense atmosphere in the room.

"What happened with Inari?" I ask cautiously.

"It appears there's some kind of good reason." Kakashi-sensei jumps in.

"Inari had a father who wasn't related by blood. But the way they got along could fool you into thinking they were." Tazuna explains, and I look at the picture of the smiling boy. "Inari was the happiest kid you've seen back then." The builder holds back some tears, shaking a little "However…" But the tears fall. "However… ever since that disaster, he's just changed so much… the concept of bravery was forever snatched away from Inari and this island alike. Ever since that awful day… that disaster…"

"That disaster? What happened to Inari?" Kakashi-sensei questions the builder.

"Before I explain that, you need to know… about the man who was called the hero of this land." He tells us and takes off his glasses to wipe away the tears.

"Hero?" Naruto questions aloud.

"It was around three years ago. That was when Inari met him…" Tazuna begins to explain the story starting with how some evil kids threw his dog into the water, letting him drown and pushed Inari in after him, who couldn't swim. "Unfortunately… That was when Pochi learned to dog-paddle." He continues to explain that Pochi left Inari to drown with the kids running after the dog and Inari lost consciousness as he sunk into the water and later awoke to find he'd been saved by said-man who helped him and gave him advice. "His name was Kaiza. He was a fisherman who'd come to this land from another country in search of his dreams. From that point on, Inari and Kaiza were inseparable. It may have been because Inari had lost his birth father when he was too young to remember it. He was so attached to Kaiza; it was like they were father and son. It wasn't long until Kaiza was a member of the family. And he was a man this town needed." He tells us about the time they had terrible rain and the river burst almost flooding District D, and how he risked his life, swimming in the harsh waters to close the watergate. "From then on, the people of this land called Kaiza, a hero. He was a father that Inari could be proud of, but, it was around that time when Gato set his sights on this land. And inevitably, one night…" They had captured and beaten Kaiza before hanging him on a cross in front of the people that once called him the hero, breaking his arms badly and executing him in front of poor Inari, breaking his heart. "Ever since then, Inari had changed… along with Tsunami and the rest of the village, too." Naruto seems too into his thoughts that when he moves, he falls flat on his face.

"What're you doing, Naruto?" I ask him, in concern.

"That's enough training for today. You've used up too much Chakra. Don't try to kill yourself." Kakashi-sensei warns as Naruto tries to get back up on his feet.

"I'll prove it!" Naruto vows.

"Prove what?" Sakura asks him as he gets to his feet slowly.

"I'll prove that… in this world… there _are_ heroes!" He tells us with a big grin on his face before he falls again on his face as he tries to move, I grab him and sling him over my shoulder, which earns protest from my crush as we walk to the boys' room.

**NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC**

I walk inside the boys' room with Naruto still over my shoulder though he's stopped protesting. "You should rest till the morning, let your Chakra replenish, I've got this tea, I could make you some, it should help," I tell him with a blush as I place him on his futon, he looks up at me with a smile.

"Thanks, that'd be great!" He replies, and I walk out of the room quickly.

**NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC**

I make it back downstairs to the others, I look down at the floor, trying to hide the burning blush on my cheeks though I could feel the others looking at me as I made the tea and rush out once I finished the drink.

**NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC**

Up in the boys' room with Naruto still lying under his covers and Sasuke comes in with a sluggish look as he lies down on his futon. "Good night, Sasuke, Naruto, this tea is good for replenishing your energy, drink it before you go to bed," I tell him and walk out of the room.

**NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC**

In mine and Sakura's room, she lies in her bed with a big smirk on her face. "Shut up," I grumble and lie down in my futon and drift off to sleep.

**NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC**

In the morning, I slowly wake up with Sakura, and we walk downstairs. "Good morning," We yawn together as everyone, but Naruto sits down at the table ready to eat breakfast.

"Here," Tsunami places down two plates in front of us.

"Thank you," We reply, looking up at the raven-haired woman. Naruto never showed up for breakfast and had snuck out late last night probably to train.

"That Naruto kid didn't come back last night, either?" Tazuna questions.

"He's a stupid guy, so he's been out every night climbing trees." Sakura comments and I worry for our blond teammate.

"He might've already drained all his Chakra and gotten himself killed." I worry, and Tsunami walks over with the rest of the food.

"Well, I hope he's okay. It's not safe to be all alone through the night." Tsunami comments.

"Well, you don't need to worry. He may not look it, but he's a qualified Ninja." Kakashi-sensei assures her.

"I don't know about that. That idiot's probably dead by now." Sasuke jabs at the missing blond before he gets up from his seat at the head of the table.

"Sasuke?" Sakura calls out to him as he walks away though he stops.

"I'm going for a walk." He replies, not looking back at us.

"But we're about to eat…" I tell him, but I look down at his plate to see he'd already eaten and he makes his escape. "That was fast!" My right eyebrow twitches in annoyance at my best friend though I want to find Naruto, so I eat quickly and run out after Sasuke. "I want to find the boys; I'll meet you later!" I yell back as I close the door on my angry sister, quickly grabbing a lunchbox for the knucklehead.

**NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC**

I run through the woods trailing behind Sasuke as he walks ahead, but I catch up in time to see a feminine looking boy walk past us, holding a basket full of healing herbs, strange. I catch up with Sasuke as we walk towards Naruto who sits on the grass muttering to himself about something about mysteries and Sasuke smacks him over the head to knock him out of it. "Ouch! Hey, what're you playin' at?!" Naruto snaps at the Uchiha.

"Did you forget about eating, you loser?" Sasuke asks him but doesn't get the reaction he was expecting as Naruto beams up at him with a knowing smile

"Here's your breakfast Naruto," I tell him, handing over the container, he grabs it with a big smile and gobbles up the food inside.

"Naruto?" I hear my sister call out sometime later and I poke my head out from behind the tree to see Kakashi-sensei and Sakura standing in front of the tree where Naruto has been climbing. "What in the world is Naruto doing? And Sasuke hasn't come back with Rio on their walk either." Suddenly, a kunai flies towards their feet and embeds itself in the ground; they look up in shock to see Naruto lying on a branch up high in the tree with a goofy grin. I walk out from behind the tree and walk between them without them, noticing as they look up at the goofball. "No way, Naruto can climb that high now? Wow!"

"How about that?! I can climb this high now, ya know!" Naruto yells down to us and jumps to his feet on the thick branch, but his landing seems to have been unsteady and loses his balance. "Whoa!"

"Oh, you idiot!" Sakura yells up to him.

"Naruto!" I call out to him in worry and announce my presences to the others.

"Oh, no!" Even Kakashi-sensei gasps as we watch Naruto fall, Sakura lets out a scream of panic, but the blond doesn't fall as he hangs upside down, using Chakra on the bottom of his feet to keep him glued to the bark of the branch.

"Gotcha!" He teases us, leaving up in shock as he grins down at us. "You totally fell for it!" He laughs.

"Don't scare us like that, moron!" Sakura yells at him, and I shake my head at his poor sense of humour. The Chakra from his feet seems to have stopped due to overuse again, and he begins to really fall, I feel my heart begin to stop watching him. "Oh! You idiot, Naruto! You had to go overboard, didn't you?!" I push down into the dirt and run fast towards the tree and run up the side of the trunk towards Naruto, I make it in time to catch his ankle, and I throw him up in the air, causing him to yelp in surprise, and I catch him in my arms the same as Kakashi-sensei. I land on another lower branch and see Sasuke next to me; I hear my sister squeal in delight at seeing her crush.

"Are you okay, Naruto?" I ask him, and he looks up at me with a blush probably from embarrassment.

"Y-yeah, I-I'm great!" He replies, and I carefully place him on his feet; I look over at Sasuke who scoffs.

"Loser," He mutters loud enough for Naruto and me to hear which riles the blond up. I jump down to Kakashi-sensei and Sakura as I hear the boys, mainly Naruto arguing and we head back to Tazuna's house.

**NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC**

We made it back to the house to pick Tazuna up for more bridge building, Sakura and I watched over the old builder as the boys continued to beat each other in tree climbing. I got out my small orange notebook full of all the plants I've cared for and Jutsu I have perfected, and I couldn't help wondering if the boys were okay as Sakura talked about small matters as we guard Tazuna.

**NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC**

The day comes to an end as we make it to the house to see Kakashi-sensei sitting at the dining table with Inari, we join them as we wait for the boys. "They're late. Sasuke is out just as much as Naruto now." Sakura comments and as she says that the door opens to the two boys, Naruto's arm slung over Sasuke's shoulder as he half drags him inside.

"What happened? You're both all battered up." Tazuna asks them.

"We both climbed to the top!" Naruto replies, tilting his head up to look at us.

"Good." Kakashi-sensei nods, "Naruto, Sasuke, starting tomorrow, you'll be guarding Mr Tazuna too." This seems to cheer the drained blond.

"Yes, sir!" He cheers as he hangs onto Sasuke who loses their balance and falls back.

"You idiot!" Sasuke snaps at him, but we all just laugh at the two of them. I get up from my seat and help both of them up, and we sit eating our food, the boys again seem to shovel it in extra fast.

"Just a wee bit more and the bridge will be complete. It's thanks to you guys." Tazuna says as Tsunami, and I collect in the dishes from the table once everyone has finished.

"Even so, don't break your back." She warns her father.

"I've really wanted to ask for a long time now. Why are you still here, even though I lied about the mission?" He asks our Sensei.

"To see what is right without doing it bespeaks an absence of courage. Like Master, like Man." Kakashi-sensei spouts a saying not many outside the Leaf know and sees the confused looks on the other adults' faces. " It's a teaching of the late Hokage." I walk over to grab the boys' plates and see Naruto lying his head on the table and place the dishes into the sink for Tsunami.

"Why?" I hear Inari whisper under his breath just barely.

"What is it?" Naruto asks him, and I turn around to look at them as Inari slams his hands down on the table.

"Why would you put so much effort into trying to get stronger?! Even if you train, you can't stand up to Gato's men! No matter how cool you try to sound… or how much you try… the weak always lose… and the strong get everything!" Inari tries, but Naruto just lowers his head back onto his arms on the table.

"Shut it. I'm not like you, kid." Naruto brushes him off.

"Shut up! Looking at you makes me sick! You just stick your nose into this country's business without knowing anything! You _aren't_ like me! You act like you're top-dog when you don't even know what pain is!" The kid strikes a chord within Naruto as his shoulders tense.

"So I should just act like you and cry all day like a drama queen? See where cryin' like an idiot gets you. You damn crybaby!" Naruto snaps at him, and he looks up at Inari who flinches at the intense look on the blond's face.

"Naruto! That's a bit harsh!" Sakura scolds him; he gets up and walks off, "Naruto?" Inari hiccups as he tries to calm himself down and stop crying. He runs out of the house, leaving us alone in silence, Kakashi-sensei gets up using his crutches and goes after the small boy. I grab my bag trying to find the last of his medicine and Sasuke leaves to his and Naruto's room, and Sakura goes to ours leaving Taxuna and Tsunami as I walk outside to find Kakashi-sensei and Inari.

**NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC**

I walk around the corner to see my Sensei and Inari sitting on the edge of the deck, talking and I seem to get the end of the speech. "What Naruto said to you before. There's no doubt he's told himself that countless times." I walk over, making myself noticed by my silver-haired Sensei. "Ah, Rio, I take it, that's my medicine?" I nod and hand over the small bottle and look at Inari as he looks up at me, I smile down at him and walk off back into the house to sleep.

**NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC**

Night came and went with morning following, we'd all finished breakfast, but Naruto is entirely out of it in bed from yesterday. We're all ready for the last day, maybe for guarding Tazuna as we make our way. "Okay, then! Please take care of Naruto. He's really pushed himself to the limit. I don't think he'll be able to move today." Kakashi-sensei informs Tsunami.

"Mr Kakashi, are you feeling alright?" Tsunami asks him in concern most likely for her father.

"Yes, thanks to my number 1 student." He replies and looks back at me, I blush at the attention.

"We'll be going!" Tazuna says, directing attention away from me and we walk off towards the bridge.

**NARUTO - LAND OF WAVES ARC**

We arrive at the end of the bridge to find all of Tazuna's workers lying scattered around either unconscious or groaning in pain. "W-what the hell is this?!" Tazuna yells in surprise at the scene in front of us. "What's going on? What happened?" I feel a chill run up my spine; it's the same feeling of bloodlust I got from Zabuza before, I see his mist roll in around us, blocking our view.

"Sasuke! Rio! Sakura! They're coming!" Kakashi-sensei alerts us as he turns around and we man Tazuna from all four sides. I grab hold of the familiar metal of my Naginata and quickly assemble the pieces.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei, this is his Hidden Mist Jutsu, right?" Sakura questions.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting, Kakashi. I see those brats still haven't left your side. And he's trembling. Poor thing." He taunts us from within the mist when several appear around us, all clones, most likely.

"I'm trembling with excitement." Sasuke replies and I shake my head at my best friend.

"Do it, Sasuke." Sensei orders and the raven-haired boy jumps into action and slices them quickly before returning to his original position.

"Oh, so he could see the Water Clones. That squirts grown quite a bit." Zabuza and his minion come into view, and I find it strange, they're relationship and the way they stand next to each other. "Looks like he's your little rival. Haku."

"So it seems." The partner agrees.

"Well, well, it seems my prediction was right on the money," Kakashi-sensei comments, seeming a little laid back.

"Prediction?" Tazuna asks, forgetting about it.

"About you, little masked boy." Kakashi-Sensei replies and I nod, thinking it was strange, in the first place.

"I knew it," Sasuke and I say together though my dear little sister makes a noise of shock.

"So the whole Mist Tracker Ninja schtick was just wool over our eyes!" Tazuna questions.

"No matter how you look at him, he's gotta be Zabuza's comrade. Standing together with him and all." Kakashi-Sensei points out.

"How dare he show up like that after what he did!" Sakura scoffs.

"I hate brats who think they're all that." Sensei digs at the boy.

"He's better than you, Kakashi-Sensei." I dig at him.

"Oh… really?" Kakashi ponders as if he forgot what he'd said about a week ago.

"I'll fight him." Sasuke and I say at the same time.

"Huh?" Sakura questions us as I look ahead at the duo.

"He pulled that stupid act on us," I reply.

"With his bad acting… I hate brats who think they're all that," Sasuke says, being a total hypocrite.

"That's so cool, Sasuke!" Sakura gushes at the words our Sensei said moments ago.

"He's quite the boy." Haku comments and Zabuza makes a noise of agreement. "Even though those Water Clones have only 1/10th the strength of their original… to think he went that well."

"However, you made the preemptive move. Go!" Zabuza orders his partner, but it all sounds like whispers from where I stand.

"Right!" Haku agrees and disappears, though I track him as he spins fast forming a tornado-like effect around him.

"What?!" Sasuke panics but calms himself as he gets into a steady stance as the boy comes towards him and they clash, Sasuke using his Kunai and Haku using Senbon Needles.

"Sakura, surround Tazuna and don't move away from me. Let Sasuke handle it, for now, Rio!" Kakashi-Sensei orders us, and I clench my hand around the metal pole of my Naginata in frustration, but I know Sasuke can handle the boy.

"Okay." Sakura and I agree, I watch the two clash metals, and they're both so fast, I can just barely keep up with their movements, they clash again holding each other at bay.

"I don't want to have to kill you… I'd like for you to back down." Haku whispers to Sasuke as if he would agree.

"Nonsense…" Sasuke replies to him.

"I knew it…" He replies. "But you won't be able to keep up with my speed. Also, I already made two preemptive moves."

"Two preemptive moves?" Sasuke questions and I think back to the masked boy's movements and look through the fog and see small puddles of water lying in different areas.

"The first one is the scattered water. And the second one was blocking one of your hands… therefore, you'll just be able to defend my attack…" He explains and raises his free hand, and he expertly uses one-handed Signs performing them flawlessly. I watch him closely and see what his hand is doing, and it's something I wish to try during my training, something I wish to learn to protect the people I care about more than anything. "**A Thousand Needles of Death!"** He slams his foot into the water, which rises into the air around the two of them.

"So he doesn't want to kill him… eh. I wonder if that's how he really feels…" I hear Zabuza ponder to himself and I look over at the assassin with narrow eyes, he glances at me, and it seems to click that I can hear him and I look back at Sasuke and the boy.

"Sasuke!" Sakura calls out to the raven-haired boy as the water around them forms spheres that again form into needles pointed right at Sasuke who seems calm when the needles dive towards him. Just as the water needles come towards Sasuke, he jumps hard from the ground, using Chakra in his feet, it seems and the masked-boy skids away from the impact zone.

"He vanished…" He seems surprised but looks up to see Sasuke who aims his Shuriken at him, and he jumps away avoiding them as they land in the ground and skids to a stop where Sasuke catches up to him.

"You're surprisingly stupid. From here on… you'll only defend my attack!" Sasuke flips the masked-boys words back on him seeming too confident, and they speed around, Sasuke goes in for an attack which Haku defends before Sasuke smartly flings his other Kunai towards the brunette who dodges and leans down on the ground. Still, Sasuke takes no chances and kicks him in the face, sending him back to Zabuza.

"To think Haku would lose in speed…" Zabuza mutters to himself as he looks down at his partner then up at Sasuke.

"It seems that I'm faster than you…" Sasuke boasts, probably feeling proud of himself for showing off.

"I can't have you mocking our team, calling them brats… he may not look it, but Sasuke is one of the number one rookies of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. And Sakura is our sharpest along with her twin sister Rio who is the other number one, rookie. And the other one is the number one hyperactive, knucklehead Ninja, Naruto Uzumaki." Kakashi-Sensei introduces us, and I spin my Naginata around a little bored and hear Zabuza chuckle as Haku sits up.

"Haku, do you know what this means? At this rate, you'll be defeated by your intended victim…" Zabuza says to his partner as he gets up on his feet.

"Yes... " He agrees, and I feel the killing intent coming from him.

"What…?" I wonder as he's around our age and the killing intent is strong.

"It's unfortunate…" Haku says.

"Is this… cold air…?" Sasuke questions and ice crawls up behind him, forming what seems to be like mirrors made of ice.

"**Hidden Jutsu!"** I watch as the ice mirrors form a dome around Sasuke, keeping him inside. "**Crystal Ice Mirrors!"** The mirrors glow as the masked-boy releases the sign, and I worry for Sasuke, as I watch Haku step into the back of one of the mirrors and he appears inside, then his reflection appears in all of them surrounding Sasuke.

"Damn it!" Kakashi-Sensei curses and runs towards them trying to stop them, but Zabuza appears in front of him, preventing him from getting closer.

"I'm your opponent, aren't I?" Zabuza questions.

"Since that Jutsu has appeared… he's done for." Kakashi-Sensei says about my best friend, and I want to run in there and fight alongside him, giving us both a fighting chance, but I can't leave Sakura.

"Now then… I'll start. I shall show you… my true speed!" Haku says and throws a Senbon Needle towards Sasuke, which tries to move out of the way, but it nicks his shirt sleeve, ripping it. Another comes from behind him and hits him, ripping his shirt again. I want to go in there and defend my friend, my teammate but I can't leave Sakura alone to protect Tazuna.

"Sasuke!" Sensei shouts out to him as we watch the needles come from all directions, too fast to defend himself, but the masked-boy isn't killing Sasuke, more scratches than anything but still.

"Sasuke!" Sakura calls out to him, and his fallen Kunai embeds itself at her feet, and we hear the screams of pain coming from within the circle of mirrors.

"If you make a move, I'll kill those three!" Zabuza warns Sensei, and I know I have to help Sasuke.

"I'm sorry, Tazuna. I'm stepping away from here for a bit." I tell him, and I focus all of my Chakra around my body, feeling myself become a part of the stone around us.

"Sure, go!" Tazuna agrees, but Sakura does something stupid and picks up Sasuke's Kunai and runs towards them, giving me the right time to not to catch anyone's attention as I slowly sink into the stone, Sakura jumps into the air and throws the Kunai into one of the gaps. I use this to travel towards the mirrors as Haku grabs the Kunai, stopping his assault on Sasuke.

"He caught it!" Sakura yelps in shock, then I emerge back up from the stone next to Sasuke to see him bleeding from the multiple scratches, I look up at the masked-boy with anger when a Shuriken hits him on the masl, knocking him out of the mirror. "What?!" Sakura looks behind to see that I've moved, it must be Naruto! "Who is it?!"

"Don't move," I warn Sasuke, he looks at me in surprise at my appearance with the smoke bomb that had just gone off, I look over at Haku as he gets to his feet.

"The number one hyperactive, knucklehead Ninja…" Haku repeats what Kakashi-sensei had said earlier.

"Naruto Uzumaki… is finally here!" He announces, not being stealthy at all, "Now that I've come, you're all right!"

"Naruto!" Sakura cheers.

"The hero of the story generally appears in this kind of situation and takes out the enemy in no time!" Naruto yells, and I lift Sasuke into my arms much to his silent protest but with him injured he has no choice, and I take my chance to slide him outside of the mirrors. "All right, here I go! **Shadow Clone Jutsu…"** But before he can complete the Jutsu, Zabuza turns, throwing Shuriken at the blonde who doesn't move fast enough.

"Get out of the way, Naruto!" Kakashi-Sensei shouts at him, but Haku throws his Senbon, stopping the Shuriken from touching the blond.

"Whoa!" We all show our surprise at the accuracy of the hits.

"What?!" Zabuza seems irritated at them being stopped.

"He's saved…" I sigh in relief.

"To think the enemy attacks would cancel each other out… that was super lucky." Tazuna gasps in surprise at the act from the two Ninjas.

"Hey! What're you doing, Naruto?!" Sakura snaps at him.

"Hey! What kind of idiot would attempt to cast a Jutsu directly in front of an opponent?!" Kakashi scolds him.

"What?!" Naruto sputters in an upset at our Sensei.

"The essence of a Ninja is deception. How you deceive your opponent. Even casting one Jutsu, you avoid the eyes of your opponents, catch them off balance, and outsmart them… the way you made your entrance earlier, that's just you coming to be a target…" Sensei explains to the knucklehead.

"N-nooo! But I went to the trouble of coming to the rescue." Naruto panics and I look over at the masked-boy as I stand in the centre of the circle of mirrors, waiting.

"Haku… what's the idea?" Zabuza questions his underling.

"Zabuza, leave this kid to me… please let me fight this battle my way." Haku replies as he gets to his feet.

"What did you say…?" Naruto growls.

"So you mean no interfering… Haku? You're naive… as usual…" Zabuza scolds him, and he seems to feel the words from that scum.

"I'm sorry." He apologises, seeming guilty about his behaviour.

"If so! As for me, I'll take you out first, so…!" Naruto shouts at the masked-boy and Zabuza steps in front of Kakashi-sensei who tries to move towards us.

"Hey, don't get any ideas… if you move, you know what'll happen to that old man, right?" Zabuza reminds him, and I look over at Sakura and Tazuna. "How about it? Let's just see how those young guys fight against each other."

"That mask… you were Zabuza's comrade, after all, weren't you! You've got the nerve to deceive us!" Naruto shouts at him as he points at the brunette.

"I'm sorry. But, your teacher also said it, didn't he? Things like deceiving and catching one off guard is a Shinobi's duty. Please don't take it personally." Haku says, and I get out my Kunai from my weapons pouch and throw it towards the brunette's mask, but he leans back just missing the hit, I look at him in shock at how fast his reflexes are for someone so young. "I haven't... forgotten about you." He turns to look at me, and I see the flinch of surprise, seeing that I've taken Sasuke's place, and I can't help the smirk that graces my lips. "I would rather you had just gone down quietly." He plays it off well, "But it looks like it won't work that way. Fine, I'll put an end to it first." He walks towards me, completely walking past Naruto.

"H-hey!" He stutters in protests at the disregard of the brunette.

"Naruto, I'll get to you later," Haku says before he walks into the back of the mirror and I look at Sasuke as he tries to get up, but from the multiple hits, he's not going anywhere just yet. I look at the image of Haku in front of me and grip the metal pole of my Naginata ready to defend myself. "I'm over here." I hear his voice come from behind me and see him standing prepared to attack me with Senbon Needles when more reflections of him come around on all of the mirrors surrounding me one by one. In a split second, a wave of Senbon Needles come from all directions scratching my skin, some making me bleed as I feel the blood drip down my skin and the pain is too much that I can't even defend myself. Haku stops his assault, and I drop onto the ground on my back and hear my teammates call out my name in concern. I sit up and cradle my left hand to my chest as it's badly bleeding as it seems to have been targeted more as it holds my Naginata. I look at the dome of mirrors with that masked-boy all around me, but I know he's only in one as I observed from outside and he's fast meaning he moves through the mirrors, but I can't figure out how and I need to destroy the mirrors from the inside while Naruto and Sasuke do it from the outside.

"Yo! I came to save you." Naruto says after he foolishly sneaked inside the dome of ice mirrors, I stare at him in shock at his foolish act, "You okay, Rio?" He asks me which is sweet, but I grit my teeth in annoyance at him.

"Y-you idiot! If you're a Shinobi, you'll move more cautiously!" I snap at him.

"What's with you?! I came to the rescue, you know!" Naruto snaps back at me, seeming annoyed.

"If you also come inside the mirrors… damn it! Why'd you have to be so foolish!" I sigh as I look away from him in irritation.

"Foolish? What do you mean by foolish?" He snaps back at me, and I get to my feet with the help of my Naginata.

"Since it's come to this, all that is left is to smash the mirrors!" I snap and shove my Naginata into Naruto's hand and begin the signs, though my Fire Style isn't as good as Sasuke's, I can try. "**Fire Style!"**

"Hey! What're you going to do?!" Naruto asks me.

"These are mirrors made with frozen water… if so… **Fireball Jutsu!"** I inhale sharply before exhaling, and a torrent of flames exit my mouth around the dome of ice mirrors which somehow extinguish the fire.

"It's not working at all!" Naruto yells as he stands next to me in shock.

"They won't melt with that level of firepower." Haku takes a dig at me and readies his Senbon Needles before a bright light comes from the mirrors surrounding us, blinding us before we get hit by something sharp that sends us to the floor, I feel the intense pain as I try to sit up.

"Darn it! Where'd he attack from?! Is it the clones? Where's the real body?!" Naruto wonders as he gets to his feet, looking around at the mirrors trying to find Haku.

"It's useless for you to even attempt following with your eyes. I absolutely will not be caught." Haku warns us; I scoff as I get to my feet.

"**Shadow Clone Jutsu!"** Naruto scoffs and performs the seals before I can stop him.

"Don't!" I try to warn him, but it's too late, as they go flying in different directions aiming for the many mirrors.

"If so, I'll find out which is the real body by hitting them all!" Naruto yells as Haku jumps out of one of the mirrors and jumps into another and continues this as he slices all of Naruto's clones, leaving just him falling to the ground next to me groaning in pain.

"This is a teleportation Jutsu that uses mirrors that can reflect only my image. Watching you from the speed I move, it almost seems as if you aren't moving at all…" Haku explains, and it gives me an idea, but I'm not sure I'll be able to do it with these mirrors.

"Is it that Jutsu… the Kekkei Genkai?!" Kakashi Sensei questions Zabuza, and I narrow my eyes at the masked-boy.

"Kekkei… Genkai…?" Sakura asks as these words never came up before.

"It's the same type as my Sharingan… deep blood ties… the lineage of paranormal individuals… a type of Jutsu that is passed on only through those traits…" Sensei explains a little.

"Then…!" Sakura gasps.

"That's right… it's impossible, even for me to copy that Jutsu. And there's no way to destroy it either!" Kakashi-Sensei informs us, and I grit my teeth in annoyance at the thought of not being able to break these mirrors.

"Goddamn it!" I hear Naruto curse, and I look over at him. "So what? There's no way I'm dyin' here! I've got a dream that has to come true! I've gotta get accepted by everyone in the village… and become the Hokage!"

"I find it hard to really be a Shinobi. If I could, I'd like to avoid killing you, and I don't want to get killed, either. But if you guys are trying to take my dream, I will kill my heart and become a Shinobi. This bridge is the battleground that connects each of us to our dreams, for the sake of my dream. And you, for the sake of yours. Please don't hold it against me. I just want to protect the person I care about. I work for him, I fight for him, and I want to make his dream a reality. That's my dream. If it's for that dream, I will truly be a Shinobi, and kill the two of you!" Haku says and holds up his Senbon Needle with the threat over us.

"Rio! Naruto! Don't lose to a guy like that!" Sakura yells over at us, and I fight the urge to look over at her.

"Stop it, Sakura! Don't goad him!" Kakashi-Sensei warns her, "Even if there was a chance that we could break that technique they won't be able to defeat that boy." He boasts our confidence to the roof, thanks, Sensei.

"W-what do you mean?" Sakura asks, and Zabuza chuckles to himself.

"They don't have what it takes to erase their emotions and kill another person! That boy knows the true agony of being a Shinobi. He's different from Naruto and Rio, even Sasuke." Sensei explains and that may be true, but that doesn't mean we will just lay down and die.

"Exactly. A peace-drunk village like yours could never produce real Shinobi. That's cos they don't know the most important thing about Shinobi battle: the experience of killing." He goes off on one, and I can feel the intensity from behind us.

"Then…! Then, what are we going to do, Sensei?!" Sakura cries out, and I hate the feeling of her in trouble, and I look over at Sasuke as he stays outside the mirrors and nods, he seems to understand and runs towards Sensei, Tazuna and Sakura.

"I'm sorry, but… I'm gonna have to wrap things up." Sensei tells Sakura and Sasuke.

"Sharingan?" She whispers.

"The Sharingan, again? Can't teach an old dog new tricks!" Zabuza snickers, trying to psych Sensei out.

"Sensei!" I hear Sakura call out to him in fear; I fight not looking over at them not wanting Haku to get the upper hand.

"You talk big, Zabuza, but you're clearly afraid of the Sharingan!" Sensei growls and Zabuza chuckles again.

"A Shinobi's trump card isn't something that you show off so much." He retorts.

"Be grateful. You're the only one who's had the chance to see it twice. But there'll be no third time!" Kakashi-Sensei snaps at the enemy who lets out a chuckle again.

"Even if you were able to kill me, you can't defeat Haku ever since he was a kid. I've been working him to the bone; training him for battle. He knows every technique in my book. On top of that, he's been polishing up his own moves. As a result… he's always… no matter how unbelievably difficult the situation, comes out on top. He has no heart, nor a life to call his own. He's a Shinobi; a killing machine. And one that has Jutsu that trumps even mine… the terrifying ability of the Kekkei Genkai. In other words, I own a very useful tool. Unlike the useless scrap, you've got there!" Zabuza says, and every word makes my blood boil.

"Just 'cos he got me the first time doesn't mean I'm quitting! I'll try as many times as it takes! **Shadow Clone Jutsu!"** Naruto snaps before I can stop him and a puff of smoke surrounds him with all copies jumping towards every mirror with Haku, and I rush towards the puddle of water and kick it into the air so I can follow his movements. I watch the water move and slice into pieces as the boy moves from mirror to mirror, I catch it almost, but the masked-boy hovers in front of me and begins to throw Senbon Needles towards me making me shield myself from his attacks. I grit my teeth in pain, but I can hear the sounds of Naruto's clones being taken out and he falls next to me. "How is he doing that?" He wonders as he gets up and I hope I can figure it out before we both die at this boy's hands.

"_It was barely there, but I saw it. I could see the trails and follow his moves."_ I thought to myself as I think back to watching Haku rush around trying to dispose of Naruto's Clones.

"One more time!" Naruto says with such determination and does the hand sign. "**Shadow Clone Jutsu!"** He produces more clones of himself, and they begin to run, I run forward again to splash the water into the air to follow the masked-boys movements in the air.

"Don't you see that it's useless!" The boy remarks as I watch him move as he attacks Naruto and i and I fall back from the multiple hits on my back; I get back up.

"_I can see his speed, but that doesn't mean that I can match it. Not like Sasuke."_ I think and analysis what I've seen. "_The water. It's being repelled. What if I try something else? Not water but… yes, now it's my move."_

"**Shadow Clone Jutsu!" **Naruto yells out his attack as he runs towards the mirrors and produces multiple clones again, making the boy prepare to jump out the safety of his mirrors, his mistake. I begin the hand signs in time to catch my breath and blow a torrent of fire towards Haku. He diverts to the attack and goes into the opposite mirror for safety, he appears out of the same mirror but continues his assault on the Naruto Clones, and I inhale again creating an immense torrent of fire redirecting Haku away from Naruto. However, he still gets all of the Clones, and Naruto comes falling next to me. I look to see I caught part of his skirt now there's a scorch mark, I try to steady my breath feeling the drain on overusing my Chakra.

"_Got him that time, I'm starting to get the timing,"_ I smirk to myself, we can beat him.

"I was so close but I just quiet couldn't get to him," Naruto complains, shaking his fist.

"Naruto, can you do that again?" I ask him, having come up with another plan.

"Huh, of course! Nothing can stop me; believe it!" He replies with enthusiasm, and I nod.

"_He doesn't want to show it, but he's exhausted, the Shadow Clone Jutsu uses us so much Chakra, but thanks to him, I've figured it out, I know how to break through."_ I think, and the ice around us glows, but I begin the hand signs. "Naruto, run for it!" He looks at me with confusion. "Get out of here and attack from the outside!" I yell at him, and he nods.

"Uh, alright, you got it!" He replies and makes a break for it, but so does Haku who goes after him.

"You can not escape." Haku snaps and attacks the blond, knocking him on his back, but he gets back up running for the exit.

"You think you can keep me here, forget it!" Naruto snaps as he runs and Haku trails after him, but I inhale and exhale a torrent of fire aiming it for Haku hoping to divert him away from my teammate.

"That's it, **Fire Style: Fireball Justs!"** I watch as the masked-boy moves out of the way and turns in midair throwing a Senbon Needle towards me; I don't have enough time to dodge the attack, the Senbon needle digs into my left shoulder, I feel the stabbing pain as it pierces my flesh. I fall to my knee from the pain as Naruto comes crashing down next to me, I grab hold of the end and yank it out, I feel the blood leaking out of the small hole down my skin under my clothes. I need to stand up and get out of here.

"I couldn't get past him." Naruto grits out as we stand.

"That was good Naruto. One more time." I tell him, and he grins at me.

"Yeah, let's do it! He agrees easily.

"_There must be a limit to his Chakra too. I can feel him slowing down."_ I realise, and Naruto breaks into a run, and I follow behind.

"No more games, I need to end this now." Haku sneers and comes out of his mirror, revealing himself with a Senbon Needle at the ready. "This time you'll stay down!" He throws to Needle into my lower leg, just below my knee, I grit my teeth at the sheer pain as he throws more needles my way, I fall back letting out a cry of pain which alerts Naruto as I hear him call my name before he too gets hit with Senbon Needles. I feel myself slipping out of consciousness, and I hear a scream coming from my sister Sakura, I try to fight the pain for her.

"Sasuke, I need to protect, Sakura!" I yell, but it comes out as a croak, but I know Sasuke will do everything in his power to fulfil my wish as I fight to stay away. I need to win this fight. "Tag!"

**Hey, I know I've finally updated this story, I got a sudden urge to watch Naruto on DVD and I felt it was time to try out the fight scene and here it is! So, great Readers I know I'm being an annoying Writer again and am making another poll to sort out my stories, I'll be updating all of the original six as I wait around till the poll closes on the 27th of July but beware the original six are also up for vote so if you want me to continue to write them please look for the poll on my profile to see what is happening!**


	4. Poll Results

_Poll Results: The top 35 stories are the ones that you have all voted on throughout the three websites! Wattpad, Fanfiction & Quotev, so thank you for everyone who voted and as of tomorrow I will be starting writing and updating _

_Naruto: Twin Haruno (1)_ = **19 **(August & September (2020))

_Lucifer: Demon Dog _= **18** (October & November)

_One Piece: The Straw Hat's Red Devil (1)_ = **18** (December & January)

_Blue Exorcist: Little Lucifer _= **18** (February & March)

_Teen Titans: Bounty Hunter Series _= **17** (April & May)

_One Piece: My Treasure Hunter (4)_ = **16** (June & July)

_Naruto: The Child Born in Moonlight _= **16** (August & September (2021))

_Merlin: Falian the Fallen Kingdom_ = **16 **(October & November)

_The Devil is a Part-timer: The Devil's Empress_ = **16 **(December & January)

_Soul Eater: Daughter Stein_ = **15** (February & March)

_OHSHC: Rebel Rose_ = **15** (April & May)

_Black Butler: Demon Love_ = **14** (June & July)

_OHSHC: The Shadow King's Punisher_ = **14 **(August & September (2022))

_Naruto: The Path of Light and Darkness_ = **13** (October & November)

_Inuyasha: Sly Love_ = **13 **(December & January)

_OUAT: The Historian_ = **13** (February & March)

_TVD: The Black Sheep_ = **13** (April & May)

_Harry Potter: The Darkmore Series_ = **13** (June & July)

_Jessica Jones: Another One_ = **12** (August & September (2023))

_OUAT: Cruel Princess_ = **12 **(October & November)

_One Piece: Calculating Culinary Courtship (2) _= **11** (December & January)

_GANGSTA: Sign in Love_ = **11** (February & March)

_BNHA: Explosive Love_ = **11** (April & May)

_BNHA: I am…_= **11** (June & July)

_HXH: Hunter & Assassin_ = **11** (August & September (2024))

_SDS: Just Plain Greedy_ = **11** (October & November)

_Haikyuu!: Sleek Cat Strategist_ = **11 **(December & January)

_Haikyuu!: The Black Knight of Volleyball_ = **11** (February & March)

_TVD: Murdock_ = **11** (April & May)

_The Dark Knight Trilogy_ = **11** (June & July)

_Harry Potter: Turn Back the Time Tuner_ = **11 **(August & September (2025))

_Nanbaka: Nanba Prison Genius_ = **10** (October & November)

_Batman: Under the Red Hood: Scarlet Sinner _= **10 **(December & January)

_KnB: The Other Purple Giant_ = **10** (February & March)

_Haikyuu!: Beautiful Light _= **10** (April & May)

_One Piece: Daughter, Wife, Doctor (3)_ = **9**

_BNHA: Cyber Armour_ = **9**

_HXH: Demon Hunter_ = **9**

_KnB: Miracle Coach_ = **9**

_Haikyuu!: The Sadistic Manager of Aoba Josai_ = **9**

_TVD: The Wardens of Mystic Falls_ = **9**

_BTVS: English Lover_ = **8**

_Black Lagoon: Rocky Waves_ = **8**

_Treasure Planet: Their Treasure_ = **8**

_BTVS: Godlike Love _= **6**

_Tokyo Ghoul: Nightmare_ = **1**


	5. The Broken Ambition

**The Broken Ambition: The Weapon in the Snow**

_Land of Waves Arc - Episodes 16 -19_

**Rio's POV:**

"Sasuke, I need to protect, Sakura!" I yell, but it comes out as a croak, but I know Sasuke will do everything in his power to fulfil my wish as I fight to stay away. I need to win this fight. "Tag!" I use up the last of my Chakra to switch Sasuke and me; I land on the ground outside of the dome of mirrors. I know Sasuke was keeping an eye on the battle inside, watching Haku's movements as Naruto and I fought against him, and I'm leaving it up to the two of them. I close my eyes feeling myself slip away. I snap my eyes open thinking about my teammates, my sister, my Sensei, I have to stay awake for them, and I slowly sit up, taking out the remaining Senbon Needles. I cringe in pain as I rip them from my flesh, again and again, I need to get back to Sakura and Tazuna, I took Sasuke out to make sure he had enough Chakra to end the fight with Haku. I look inside the dome of mirrors to see Sasuke and Naruto standing next to each other, and I know they can handle this. "Boys, I'll look after Tazuna and Sakura, you beat this guy!" I yell to them, hoping it'll encourage them, they don't spare me a glance, but I know they heard me from there.

"You got it, Rio!" I hear Naruto shout back and I run off towards the mist where Sakura and the others hide.

**THE LAND OF WAVES ARC**

I make it into the mist, but I can't see anything, there's barely any visibility, most likely a countermeasure to Kakashi-Sensei's Sharingan. "Kakashi-Sensei!" I hear Sakura call out nearby; I follow her voice further into the mist.

"You were late Kakashi. You let your concern for those little punks' safety cloud your mind, adding further to the fog that already hinders your Sharingan. Your eyes are sharp Kakashi, but not sharp enough to read my moves, not anymore." Zabuza lets out a dark throaty chuckle. "Come on, Kakashi, I want this to be fun. I want to enjoy myself, as I exact my revenge. As for those brats, don't worry they're at Haku's mercy, now they're breathing their last breaths, right now." I grow closer to the voice, and I can barely see the pink hair of my twin as I step in behind her to see Kakashi between Tazuna and Zabuza. "Relax, you'll have plenty of time to weep out an apology for failing those brats when you see them in the next life." He hysterically chuckles as he fades into the thick fog, which grows ever denser.

"Man, he knows how to laugh creepily." I alert the others to my presence, Sakura and Tazuna jump in surprise but Sensei seems to tense up, but I know he's trying to keep his senses sharp to find Zabuza.

"He said Sasuke will die," Sakura whimpers, I place my hand on her shoulder in comfort as she shakes her head to clear her mind. "No, I won't believe that I have faith in him… And that masked kid… I can't lose Sasuke… Naruto either…" I keep catching the end of her sentences; I smile because I feel the same way, I believe in those two boys.

"Exactly. I-I believe in their abilities; I have faith in them. Naruto, the number one, hyperactive, knucklehead Ninja. And Sasuke, heir to the most powerful Clan in the Hidden Leaf Village." Kakashi says, and I hear an intake of breath from across the bridge.

"You mean-" Zabuza makes himself known.

"Yes, his full name is Sasuke Uchiha. The unique powers of the Uchiha bloodline run through his veins. The Kekkei Genkai is his birthright." Kakashi reveals to the Mist Ninja, which seems to shake his faith a little.

"I heard that one young Ninja survived the tragedy of the Uchiha Clan. No wonder he advances so quickly. But so does Haku, no one can match him. No one has ever stopped his Secret Jutsu, even the most skilled Jonin fall before him. Just as you will fall before me, right now!" Zabuza rages as he grabs hold of the hilt of his sword.

"Sakura, Rio, stay with Tazuna," Kakashi orders us giving us a glance over his shoulder.

"Okay, uh, got it." Sakura agrees.

"Got it." I copy, and we stand with the drunk in the middle keeping in safe from the swordsman and Kakashi runs off further into the dense mist.

I suddenly felt a strong Chakra coming from the dome of mirrors; the Chakra felt even more deadly than Zabuza's Killing Intent, I feel a chill run down my spine, freezing me to the stop at the intense feeling. I can make out a severe orange flickering through the dense fog in front of me, but I can't see anything else, and I worry for the boys, but I know they will be okay. As quickly as the intensely strong Chakra appeared it vanishes without a trace, I look around to see if I can find the orange glow again, but I can't see anything but the fog. The sound of growls come from within the mist, spooking the others as they bump into my back. "That dreadful noise, what could it be?" Tazuna questions in fear as the growls of animals grow more viscous.

"I don't know, and I'm not sure I wanna find out," Sakura replies as she clutches onto my arm in fright, whatever it was the fog seems to lift ever so slightly.

"At last, I think this blasted fog is lifting." Tazuna voices and I spot two shadows within the fog; one seems more significant than the other.

"Look, they're standing still, like there squaring off." I point out, still looking at the shadows.

"Yeah, I can't see a thing." Tazuna comments.

"Which one of them is Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asks, and I see the smaller figure jump towards, the more prominent figure. "Ones moving." As the smaller one gets closer, I worry for Sensei as something strange happens as a shockwave appears to blow the mist away, making it clearer to see. In front of us is Kakashi-sensei with his hand producing rare Chakra inside the chest of who seems to be Haku, and Zabuza standing behind him along with what appear to be Summonings vanishing from Zabuza who was once pinned down and one of those blasted mirrors. Blood drips from the ghastly wound inflicted by the attack from our Sensei who stops and tries to pull away, but Haku grabs hold of his hand, stopping him.

"Zabuza." Haku croaks out as he keeps Kakashi-sensei there allowing Zabuza to attack.

"So, my future's all used up. Huh? Wrong again, Kakashi." Zabuza chuckles as more blood drips from the wound.

"Isn't that the young man in the mask?" Tazuna questions and I can't help but nod in shock.

"The boy threw himself in front of my attack. He saved your worthless life at the cost of his own." Kakashi-sensei spits at the Mist ninja.

"Well done Haku," Zabuza says before grabbing his sword and begins to swing down towards the boy and Sensei.

"Kakashi-sensei, watch out!" Sakura cries out to him.

"I knew I found a treasure when I found you, boy, you've not only given me my life but Kakashi's as well!" Zabuza yells as he swings down, then up to slice Sensei and the boy but Kakashi grabs hold of Haku and jumps back out of the way of the long blade. "Not bad for having a corpse in your arms."

"You'll pay for that!" Naruto snaps, announcing his arrival.

"No, stay out of this Naruto," Kakashi-sensei warns him as he lies Haku down on the ground, closing his eyes. "This is my battle. Zabuza's mine."

"Naruto? Naruto! Over here, Naruto!" Sakura calls over to him, I look over at him, but I only see him, where is Sasuke? "So you and Sasuke are alright?" She asks him and the look on his face says it all. "What's wrong? Where is Sasuke anyway?" That seems to crumble Naruto, and I feel empty, the thought that I put him there in my place, it shouldn't have happened. "No." She whimpers, I hold her hand that's clutching onto my arm, trying to take her pain and sadness away, but I know it won't work.

"Sakura…" I hear Sensei whisper, but he's interrupted by Zabuza.

"Kakashi, I'd stay focused if I were you!" He warns our Sensei as he runs towards him, but before he can slice him in half, Kakashi-sensei springs up, kicking Zabuza in the face, knocking him away.

"Let me take you to him Sakura, as long as we stay together you won't be disobeying your Sensei's orders," Tazuna suggests, and she lets go of my arm taking Tazuna's hand.

"Thank you." She replies in a small whisper before we both run, I run behind them to make sure Zabuza doesn't get to them and stop once we pass Naruto. The look on his face broke my heart; he was broken, beaten and full of sadness, I stay behind him letting the others continue to Sasuke, I don't think I'm ready to see what's happened just yet.

"Sasuke…" Naruto whimpers out in a low voice I place my hands on his shoulders, I feel him tense up under my touch, but I continue as I move closer into his back as I move my arms to hug him around the neck.

"Sasuke!" I hear Sakura cry out and I tighten my hold as I feel Naruto start to shake as if holding back tears. I watch as Kakashi-sensei and Zabuza fight, Sensei is exceptional compared to Zabuza who seems to be catching his breath before he gets up running towards Kakashi-sensei who just punches him aside. Zabuza catches his footing but not for long as Sensei hits him again, spinning the Mist Ninja around, causing his sword to scratch across the bridge surface.

"I'll split you in half!" Zabuza roars as he runs towards Kakashi-sensei, swinging down his sword but misses, then smashes it down, leaving a crater on the surface where Sensei once was. Kakashi-sensei appears behind him holding his neck in a deadly grip.

"Look at you; you're falling apart. I knew you didn't have what it takes for the long haul." Kakashi-sensei goads him.

"What did you say?" Zabuza sneers in anger.

"You have no idea what real strength is," Sensei replies, spinning two Kunai around his fingers at different times. "Game over, you lose." He goes to strike but so does Zabuza as he tries to swing his sword towards Kakashi-sensei who stabs the two Kunai in his other arm, which knocks him away, he catches himself landing on his feet, somersaulting away. Zabuza loses motor functions in his arm, making him lose his grip on the hilt of his sword, as it goes crashing away to the side. I feel Naruto shake in shock at the intense battle in front of us, the power of Kakashi-sensei is immense compared to us and how he thinks on his feet amid conflict is something to behold. "Now both of your arms are useless. What now? You can't even make hand signs?" The sound of something hitting the surface across us turns our attention to the number of thugs at the end of the unfinished bridge.

"Did quiet a job on you didn't he Zabuza. You look like yesterdays Sashimi. I must say, I'm disappointed." Says the chief thug in a suit, who I figure is Gato.

"Gato, I don't understand, what is all this? Why are you here? And who are all these thugs you brought with you?" Zabuza asks which seems to indicate this was completely unplanned.

"Well, you see there's been a slight change in plan. According to the new plan, you die right here on this bridge, Zabuza." Gato replies as if it were nothing.

"What?" Zabuza growls in anger.

"That's right; you're too expensive, so I've decided to take you off the payroll. Of course, even these thugs I've brought with me cost something. So if you could manage slaughter a few of them before they take you down, I'd appreciate it. Think you can manage that, _Demon Ninja_ of the Mist. Look at ya; you look as demonic as a wet kitten." Gato baits him, and I have to say he has no class as the rest of the thugs laugh not bothered that he wants some of them dead, so he doesn't have to pay them.

"Well, well, Kakashi. It would seem that our fight is at an end. Since I am no longer in Gato's employ, Tazuna is safe; we have no quarrel." Zabuza points out.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." Sensei agrees, and I look over to see Gato walk over with his cane tapping away towards the corpse of Haku.

"That reminds me, you little punk, you grabbed me and nearly broken my arm. I've been meaning to repay you for that!" Gato growls as he nudges Haku's head with his foot, and kicks Haku, I cringe, loosening my hold on Naruto as Gato touches him again with the bottom of his cane. "I only wish he was alive to feel it." Naruto slips out of my arms as he angrily charges towards the others.

"Getaway! Get away from him!" Naruto roars as he charges, but Kakashi-sensei catches him, he struggles in Sensei's arms.

"Hey, stop! Use your head!" Sensei warns him as he stops struggling in his grasp, I walk calmly towards them and place my hand on Sensei's shoulder, gripping the fabric, trying to express my anger at the tiny criminal.

"Well, Zabuza you gonna let him do that?" Naruto asks the Rogue Ninja.

"Be quiet, you fool. Haku's dead what does it matter." Zabuza replies but I can see he hates it as much as Naruto maybe even more.

"What? You mean you can just stand there and watch him get treated like a dog. You and Haku were together for years! Doesn't that mean anything!" Naruto snaps hating his reply as if Haku meant anything.

"You don't understand the way of Shinobi. I merely used him, just as Gato used me. Now it's over; his usefulness is at an end. The lose of his strength and skill, yes, that means something to me, but the boy, nothing." Zabuza says, and I don't believe a word of it.

"If you mean that, you're an even bigger rat than I thought." Naruto grits his teeth and I know Naruto must feel some kind of connection with Haku.

"Okay, that's enough, calm down Naruto. He's not the enemy, not right now." Kakashi-Sensei tries to talk some sense into the blond.

"Ah, shut up!" He shouts, shaking Sensei off him. "Far as I'm concerned, he's enemy number one!" He points at the injured Ninja. "Why you… you ungrateful… after everything, he did for you! Haku lived for you! You were the most important thing in the world to him!" He points towards Haku in anger, trying to show what he means. "And he meant nothing to you? Nothing at all?! He sacrificed everything for you! You never felt anything at all for him! And if I become stronger, does that mean I'll become as cold-hearted as you are? He threw his life away, and for what? For you and your dream! You never let him have a dream of his own, but he didn't care. And you just toss him aside like he was nothing. A broken tool. Man, that is so wrong, so wrong!" Naruto begins crying, and I feel his words take effect, they're so powerful I feel myself tearing up.

"You talk too much." I see drops of water splash in front of Zabuza, meaning Naruto's words touched him too. "You're words cut deep, deeper than any blade. While he fought you, his heart was breaking in two; you see Haku was always too soft and too kind. He felt pain and sorrow and now curse him, I feel them too and something else. I feel content that this is the way it ends." Zabuza moves his head away, and rips his mouth mask apart, revealing the rest of his face. "Well, cat got your tongue? Are you so surprised to discover that I'm human, even Shinobi are human. No matter how hard we try to escape that simple fact, we always fail. Well, at least, I have failed. Boy, give me your Kunai." Zabuza orders and Naruto takes out his Kunai.

"Here," Naruto says and throwing the Kunai towards the Ninja. He catches it in his mouth with a look of determination, to avenge Haku. Zabuza runs towards the hoard of thugs, scaring the tiny suit who runs towards the group of thugs.

"That's enough of this! Do it! Take him down now!" Gato cries out as he runs through the pack of thugs away from the Demon Ninja who runs fast towards the group.

"Yeah! He must be out of his mind? One against all of us what's he thinking?!" The pack yell out in disbelief, but they soon eat those wards as Zabuza runs through slicing them up left and right.

"Woah," I whisper, leaning forward at the skill, displayed by Zabuza as he runs to the back of the hoard of thugs.

"He's the devil!" Gato screams in fright; it goes silent for a second before the thugs move to the end of the bridge, stabbing Zabuza in the back like the cowards they are, I watch as Zabuza pulls away from the bleeding Gato. Still, he doesn't seem to want to die just yet as he leans over Gato who cowers under him. He grabs another Kunai and slices Gato across the chest twice before spinning around him with such speed before thrusting up and getting him in the chest for the final blow, causing the tiny monster to go flying into the water below. The group of thugs cower away from the Demon Ninja making a path for him towards his deceased partner, Zabuza tries to walk towards him, but his body begins to fail on him as the Mist Ninja falls to his knees. His body falls hard on the harsh surface of the bridge surrounded by the pack of thugs who look down on him, Naruto turns his head hating the sight, but I can't help but look and admire, in the end, he did care for Haku.

"Don't turn away, when you live as a warrior, this is how it ends," Sensei says, and I nod giving his words though and he's not wrong.

"Naruto! Rio! Here, look, it's Sasuke! He's alright! He's alright!" Sakura calls out; I turn around to see Sasuke getting up careful, looking like a pin cushion not making eye-contact with us and holds his arm up in the air signalling to Naruto.

"But how?" Naruto wonders and I look at the needles, they were in vital points most likely the same as when Haku faked Zabuza's death, but I'll never truly know if Haku meant it in the end.

"Well, well, will the wonders never cease. Amazing," Kakashi-sensei comments, when the sound of clinking comes from the pack of thugs.

"Hey, yoohoo, don't go getting comfortable." Raccoon thug sneers, catching our attention.

"This party ain't over yet. Who's gonna pay us now that Gato's gone?" Grape thug questions angrily.

"No way, we're leaving here empty-handed. So, we'll just have to hit that village and see what they've got for us." Raccoon-thug replies.

"Yeah! Let's do it. Come on!" The pack of thugs roar in agreement.

"Not good," Kakashi-sensei mutters.

"Come on, Kakashi-sensei you must have a Jutsu that can take care of this bunch of losers!" Naruto complains.

"Not right now. I used too much of my Chakra." Sensei replies and I nod agreeing my Chakra was low too.

"Get 'em, boys!" Raccoon-thug yells, and they run towards, but an arrow embeds itself in front of the mob of thugs stopping them, I look behind us to see the whole village standing at the other end, all with weapons ready to defend their town.

"There's one little thing your forgetting about. Before you set one foot in our village, you'll have to go through all of us!" One of the villagers shouts, and I smile at their bravery.

"Yeah!" The rest of the villagers shout in agreement raising their weapons in the air.

"Inari!" Naruto calls out to the small smiling boy.

"Heroes usually show up at the last minute you know." The kid says looking much happier than the last time I saw him.

"They've all come, the whole village," Tazuna mutters sounding as if he's trying to fight back the tears, I look over at the thugs to see them hesitating at the sight of the villagers up in arms.

"**Shadow Clone Jutsu!"** Naruto shouts and produces some clones, I wish I could help, but my Chakra is at an all-time low.

"**Shadow Clone Jutsu!"** Sensei says and produces more clones of himself. "Kakashi style!" They all say together, and that makes the thugs think otherwise. "Okay, still wanna fight?" They ask and the thugs all book it trying to get onto the small boat at the side of the bridge.

"Victory!" Inari cries out, and I smile as I run towards Sakura and Sasuke, I hug my little sister who hugs me back, I hit Sasuke in the arm, which makes him look back at me with his usual glare.

"You made us worry, you jerk!" I snap at him as I pull away from Sakura, and it begins to snow lightly.

"Impossible. Snowing at this time of year?" The villagers wonder, and I hold out my hand trying to catch the snow, I watch as Kakashi-sensei places Zabuza down next to Haku. Rays of light shine through the clouds, I walk towards Naruto and take his hand in mine as he cries.

"He told me where he came from it was always snowing, all the time." Naruto weeps, sniffling trying to fight the tears.

"Of course. His spirit was as pure as the snow. You never know Zabuza, maybe you will join him there. Who's to say." Kakashi' Sensei says, and the snow lets up, and I look up at the silver-haired man.

"Sensei, what'll happen to them now?" I ask him, he looks down at me, and I look at the two deceased Ninja. "Can't we bury them, they deserve that at least, to be together." He places his hand on my head; I look up at him as I fight the tears.

"What a good idea, Rio, but first I think we need to heal the living first," Kakashi-Sensei replies, and I nod as I look over at Sasuke and Naruto even Kakashi and myself we're badly beaten up. Before we walk away with the rest of the villagers who will help take Haku and Zabuza away till we can bury them and let them be at peace. I grab the sword feeling the weight it was slightly heavier than my Naginata who I see in my sister's hands who struggles a little, and we walk off back to the village to Tazuna's home.

**THE LAND OF WAVES ARC**

Back at Tazuna's home, I take the Senbon Needles from Sasuke's body, I'm halfway done, and he flinches every time, I'd already helped Naruto and Kakashi-sensei who are changed and downstairs with the others. "Sasuke, I know you want to be stronger, and I'm sorry I put you back inside if I hadn't, you wouldn't have got hurt." I whimper feeling the guilt every time I took a Needle out it felt heavier on my shoulder and my heart. "I'm so sorry, Sasuke. I'm a terrible friend and teammate." I feel my eyes grow hot as tears cloud my view.

"Shut up, you dobe. I'm fine, and if you hadn't switched us, it would have been you, and Sakura would be worse off. I would have been worse off. Best friend." Sasuke says the fatal line and the tears fall; I take another Needle out a little too harsh and he lets out a yelp, I giggle as he glares at me.

"Sorry, best friend." I giggle and wipe away my tears and continues to heal my friend.

**THE LAND OF WAVES ARC**

The end of the day, yesterday we were fighting Haku and Zabuza and now we're burying them, Sakura suggested we bury them up on a hill last night, and we all agreed, it seems a beautiful place to stay forever. I place Zabuza's sword by his grave and thrust it into the ground as we finish decorating their gravestones and paying our respect to the fallen. "Is that really it, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asks as she gets up from her prays. "Is that the Ninja way, to use and be used by people, like tools?"

"Shinobi are all merely tools, in the hands of destiny. No point in wonder whether it's right or wrong, it just is. It's the same in the Village Hidden in the Leaves." Kakashi-Sensei replies and I don't like the thought of that.

"Well, if you ask me if that's what being a Ninja is all about then something's out of wack. is that why we go through all that training just to end up like them." Naruto scoffs as he looks back at the graves.

"What is the reason for that?" Sasuke asks Sensei who gives out a sigh before answering

"Well, it's a question without an answer, and that is something we Ninja have to deal with every day of our lives. Like Zabuza and the kid."

"Okay, I've just come to a decision," Naruto announces, and we look at him. "From now on, I'm finding my own Ninja way, a way that is straight and true and without any regrets. From now on, I'm following the way of Naruto!" Sensei chuckles under his breath, and I can't help the smile on my face as I look at the blond.

**THE LAND OF WAVES ARC**

It's time to leave, everyone is packed up, and we go to Tazuna's with the villagers coming with us to say their final goodbyes. "We could never have finished the bridge without you." Tazuna compliments us and seems less drunk now too. "I can't tell you how much we're going to miss you."

"Do be careful." Tsunami says with a smile.

"Thank you for everything," Sensei replies.

"Now, now don't get all choked up, we'll come back and visit real soon," Naruto says, and I see little Inari trying to fight the tears.

"You swear you will?" Inari asks Naruto, and his grandfather places his hand on his head in comfort as he bites back the tears.

"Of course, you know Inari it's alright to cry if you want, there's nothing wrong with that. Go for it." Naruto chokes up not letting the tears fall.

"Who says I want to cry! Anyway, if there's nothing wrong with it, why don't you cry!" Inari bites back.

"No, you first!" Naruto cries out but turns around. "Forget it!" He lets the tears flow; I shake my head at their antics as we walk away crossing the finished bridge.

"Come on, Naruto; we have to get home!" I pull him along by his arm.

"Ah-ha, as soon as we get back, I'm gonna let Iruka-sensei fix me up a whole mess of ramen to celebrate a mission accomplished. Oh, and just wait until I tell Konohamaru all about my adventures, the kid's gonna worship me!" Naruto cheers in delight.

"Hey?" Sakura asks looking in Naruto's direction.

"Yeah?" He answers.

"Not you, Naruto. Sasuke, when we get back, wanna go out and do something together?" She asks him with hope in her eyes.

"No, I don't think so, thanks," Sasuke replies breaking her heart.

"Oh, okay." She says with upset, and I place my hand on her head.

"We can do something together, sis, we could go to the garden?" I offer, she smiles in agreement and hops onto my back, making me carry her the rest of the way. I laugh as Naruto skips with glee at the thought of ramen and even Sasuke seems more chipper than usual.

**It's here! Thank god, it felt like forever writing this, but I've done it! Hope you like, please let me know in your own way.**


	6. A New Chapter Begins Powerful New Rivals

**A New Chapter Begins: Powerful New Rivals!**

_Chunin Exam Arc - Episode 20 - 21_

**Rio's POV:**

It's been a week since we returned from the Land of Waves from our mission, I still can't get it off my mind, but I know that growing stronger is going to be a struggle especially the way Sasuke and Naruto have been acting lately. I eat my usual breakfast, Sakura tries skipping, but Mum is force-feeding her till she swallows all of it, I smirk as I told Mum last night that Sakura keeps skipping meals and well this is the result. My kimono got ruined thanks to Dad doing the washing up, so I had to change my outfit to the brown pants Sakura had got me from our birthday. The dingy pink crop top that Dad gave me as his sorry gift for ripping my favourite kimono and the grey and black jacket I got from our grandparents. The new outfit was more practical for missions anyway. "Sakura we've got to meet the boys and Kakashi-sensei at the bridge soon," I tell her as I put my dishes in the sink for Mum and grab my med bag in case Naruto gets hurt again, like yesterday when he hit his head falling over.

_**Chunin Exam Arc**_

Sakura and I make it to the bridge after Sasuke who seems grumpier than usual as he leans against the railing with a blank expression, ignoring us. "Sasuke, you'll get wrinkles if you keep frowning," I comment, snapping him out of his daze, he looks at me with narrow eyes, but I just smile at him, shrugging his grumpy nature off. "Sleep okay?" I ask him, he nods with a grunt which for him is pretty normal. "I slept fine as well, thank you." I joke and turn as I hear steps approaching, it can't be Kakashi-sensei as he's always late even if he tells us what time, it was Naruto with his usual gleeful self.

"Hey, good morning Sakura, Rio, what's up?" He greets the two of us, with a smile but looks over at Sasuke and exchange a frown before huffing and turning away.

Hours of waiting for Kakashi, the morning is almost over when Kakashi-sensei finally decides to turn up. "Hey, guys, good morning. Sorry, I'm late afraid I got lost on the path of life." He gives his usual terrible excuse which triggers Sakura and Naruto who yell up at him from the top of the bridge, I don't blame them, but it's too loud.

"It's almost noon, Sensei," I remark, he looks uncomfortable with the two yellers and jumps down to stand in front of us.

"I'm ready for the next Ninja mission, Sensei. And hey, come on, no more of this dumb beginner stuff, okay. I want a chance to prove myself, I'm talking a real mission, where I can show what I'm made of. I gotta break out and burn it up! See!" Naruto exclaims with a lot of enthusiasm which freaks Sensei out as he steps away.

"Uh, right. I get it, that's great Naruto, now take it easy would ya." Kakashi-sensei tells him, and he turns around facing us and looks at Sasuke with his hands at the ready seeming to be thinking hard about something.

"Believe it!" Naruto suddenly yells, and I laugh at his antics.

"Let us know when you're done fantasying Naruto, so we can start the mission, alright?" Sensei jokes.

"Right!" Naruto agrees but seems okay now.

"Could you not be so annoying Naruto, just for once." Sakura criticises, and I shake my head at her.

"You do the same thing about Sasuke," I comment and receive a mean glare from my adorable twin.

"The first mission is picking weeds," Sensei announces which earns a groan from Naruto and Sakura though Sasuke doesn't look that happy either.

_**Chunin Exam Arc**_

At the house, the woman seems kind enough, she takes us to the back garden, and I could see the problem, but she looks after her garden nicely, I see Naruto by a flower bed near the house, and before he touches them, I push him away. "Hey, what was that for!" He shouts at me as he gets up.

"Those are special herbs, you were about to destroy!" I yell back at him and pull him away to a large patch of weeds at the back of the garden away from any planets. "These are weeds, from the tree to the back gate," I walk away back to the flower bed of special herbs and carefully pick the weeds, I look at the herbs and see them in perfect condition, they were carefully planted and watered, she really cares about her garden.

We finished weeding the garden, Naruto was trying to complete with Sasuke but thankfully stayed in his corner, we got done faster with Naruto whizzing around the yard. "Well done everyone, next mission, cleaning up the river," Sensei announces and the nice lady thanks us herself for weeding her garden as we leave.

_**Chunin Exam Arc**_

At the river, Kakashi-sensei gives us each a basket to collect all the junk from the bottom of the river and tongs to pick it up, I sit down as I roll my pant bottoms to my knees before throwing the tongs away and I get my Naginata out then put the basket on my back. I walk into the freshwater with the others and begin to spear the trash before placing it in the basket.

We've been doing this for over an hour already, Sensei is reading his gross book on the shore leaning against a tree, not bothering to help, when Naruto slips on something, splashing me in the face. I cringe away from the water getting in my eye as Naruto goes along with the current to the waterfall at the end, Sasuke runs after him and jumps after him, I run after, I lean over the edge to see Sasuke holding onto a tree branch and Naruto. "Are you two okay?" I call down to them, they look up as I use the bandages around my thigh to help pull them both up with Sakura's help.

"I'll call the end of this one," Kakashi-sensei finally moves, "We've got one more, dog walking."

"I'm not a dog person." I groan as get up and unroll my pant bottom feeling Sensei looking down at me. "What?" I ask as I look at him, but he walks away. "Come on, Sensei, what did I say?"

_**Chunin Exam Arc**_

Kakashi-Sensei doesn't talk to me for the whole walk back to the village as we go to another house to meet the owner with three dogs, Naruto straight away picks the biggest one and leaves Sasuke and Sakura with the smaller ones, and I pair with Naruto. "Naruto, stop that, we're supposed to go this way!" I exclaim as he tries stopping the dog, but gets dragged behind.

"Hey, hey, not there, we're supposed to go the other way!" Naruto yells as he gets dragged along. "Hey, I'm talking to you!" The dog ignores him as he continues walking towards the fence. "Stop pulling, you're not supposed to go over there! That's no place for dogs that's a minefield!" I hug Naruto around the waist and pull, digging my feet into the ground, and the dog comes to a holt, it tries walking but only digs into the ground, it stops and sits whining a little.

"Bad dog," I scold him, and he whines again.

_**Chunin Exam Arc**_

We finally finish all of our chores, I mean missions and we walk along the street, Naruto is leaning on Sasuke and I's shoulders from the stupid dog. "Look at you, you're hopeless Naruto," Sakura complains as she walks behind us probably admiring Sasuke.

"You really are just one big problem." Sasuke baits him, and it works as Naruto moves away from us and tries to get at the Uchiha.

"Sasuke!" Naruto roars, ready to strike at him but Sakura snaps her arm in his way stopping him from attacking, he looks at her.

"If you keep this up, I'll finish you off myself!" Sakura warns him with a mean look on his face.

"Huh, guess we're not making a lot progress on the teamwork thing, uh?" Kakashi-sensei asks, and it seems to goad Naruto on further.

"That's right. Our teamwork is all messed up, and it's all because of you, Sasuke. You think you're better than everyone else?" Naruto yells in anger.

"Not everyone, just you. Face it, I'm better and stronger. It's a fact unless you have what it takes to prove me wrong." Sasuke keeps baiting him and turns around, so they face each other. They seem to be getting along worse than before, something is wrong with boys and their competitive nature, I hear an eagle call from above.

"Alright guys, let's call it a day. You can beat each other to a pulp some other time. Anyway, I have to file my report on this mission." Sensei announces seeming fed up with the boys arguing like the rest of us.

"Whatever, I'm out of here," Sasuke says and turns walking away down the street.

"Wait, Sasuke I'll go with you," Sakura calls after him as she runs away,

"I can go to the gardens!" I cheer and walk after them, leaving Naruto behind.

"So, why don't we - I mean, you know, do something more personal. I mean to improve our teamwork and all." Sakura tries to go out on a date with Sasuke again.

"I swear, you're just as bad as Naruto. Instead of flirting, why don't you practice your Jutsu and make our team stronger? Let's face it, you're worse than Naruto. Be more like Rio, least she contributes." Sasuke says, and I can feel Sakura break from the harsh words, I step to her and place my hand on her shoulder as she sulks.

"Don't worry about him, Sakura. Just forget about Sasuke, you and me can develop our teamwork all day, you can come too Rio." Naruto smiles, trying to encourage the gloomy teen, I hear a slight bang and see that Sensei has gone, probably for the best as I try to comfort my sulking twin. Naruto runs past us with a fake cardboard square rock following behind him as he keeps running back and forth past us, he stops facing the visible phoney rock.

"That's the worst disguise of all time, there's no such thing as square rocks. It's completely obvious!" Naruto yells as he points down at the cardboard box.

"You saw through my camouflage again, your slick Boss. I'd expect nothing less from my greatest rival." A kid's voice comes from under the box which lights up as it explodes, with three coloured smoke bombs, the smoke clears to see three kids coughing because of the dense smoke. "I think we used a little too much gunpowder, you guys." The kid in the middle says.

"I'm Moegi, the sassiest Kunoichi in pre-school, check me out!" The girl introduces herself, striking a pose.

"I love algebra, call me Udon." The boy with glasses adds striking another pose.

"And I'm the number one, Ninja in the village. Konohamaru." The boy in the middle with the long scarf and strikes his own pose. "And when we're all together-"

"We're Konohamaru Ninja Squad!" They say together striking a pose, I think they're adorable.

"Yeah, I knew it was you, Konohamaru." Naruto shrugs them off. "Hey, what are those things, those goggles your wearing on your head?" He asks them, Konohamaru seems happy he notices as they all touch the goggles on their heads.

"You use to wear goggles, remember. So we're copying you." Konohamaru laughs, but Naruto doesn't seem that impressed. "Hey, come on, Boss, why are you being like that? You ought to be more excited!"

"So, did you want something?" Naruto asks them.

"He's just trying to be cool," Konohamaru assures Udon.

"You know what we want, are you busy now?" Moegi asks him.

"I have to train, believe it!" Naruto tells them.

"What?! But you promised you'd play Ninja with us today! Come on!" Konohamaru complains in disappointment, this seems to snap Sakura out of her sulking, and she walks towards them still gloomy though.

"Oh, did I say that?" Naruto questions, scratching his head as if trying to think of something.

"A Ninja, playing Ninja, that is so twisted." Sakura digs at them.

"Hey Sakura, Rio." Naruto greets us.

"Come on now, Sakura lets go, sorry about her Naruto." I apologies and look at them when Naruto lets out an awkward laugh.

"Hey, boss, who are these girls, anyway?" Konohamaru asks the blond. "I get it, you're a smooth operator, Boss. Come on, I know she's your… girlfriend." He must mean Sakura, it can't be me.

"Well, you can tell she's really crazy about me, huh?" Naruto says trying to seem cool in front of his friends, and Sakura punches him in the face, knocking him into the fence, he dents it with the force of his fall and the punch.

"Boss! What kind of girl are you!" Konohamaru yells at Sakura, but he doesn't call her his girlfriend again.

"Oh no, Naruto, are you okay?" I run over to him as I see he's down on the ground, from Sakura's hit.

"I think she cracked him." Moegi comments.

"We've gotta check his pulse!" Udon cries out, I push them aside as I help him to sit up.

"You're a witch, and you're ugly too!" Konohamaru adds fuel to the fire as she starts cracking her knuckles and finally hits him over the head.

"Sakura that's enough," I warn her, and she walks away angry as I help Konohamaru up from his beat-up from Sakura.

"Hey, Konohamaru are you okay?" Udon asks his friend.

"I don't even think she's human. Did you see how wide her forehead is?" Konohamaru hits the wrong button making my sensitive sister stop in her tracks.

"That was the worst thing to say, kid. Start running." I warn them as she turns around with an ugly look on her face, they head my words as they start running, and she goes after them. I sigh to myself as I watch them run and stroll to catch up, I turn the corner to see Konohamaru get knocked back by a teen a little older than us dressed in all black with something wrapped in bandages on his back and a girl about the same age as him in a white dress and four ponytails.

"Do you need something?" The boy asks, looking down on us, from the mark on their headband their from the Village Hidden in the Sand, but what could have brought them here to our village, unless… it is the time of year. The Chunin Exam! Before I can move, the kid clad in black grabs Konohamaru by his scarf and lifts him in the air. "So, does this hurt punk?" He tightens his hold, making the kid whimper in pain.

"Put him down, Kankuro. Or you know you'll pay for it later." The girl warns him.

"Hey, I'm sorry, the whole thing was my fault." Sakura apologies trying to calm the situation,

"You better take your hands off him right now!" Naruto yells at the boy, who seems to be smirking to himself.

"We've got a few minutes before he shows up, let's mess with these punks, huh." Kankuro brushes her off though she seems on edge as she looks out for whoever _he_ is.

"Let go of me, you jerk!" Konohamaru yells and kicks his feet into the boy's chest, but it doesn't do anything as he tightens his grip on the kid.

"You're feisty, but not for long." The teen grins.

"Put him down!" Naruto roars as he runs towards the Sand Genin and I see the boy's fingers fidget as if moving something invisible to the naked eye and suddenly Naruto falls on his back. "What the? What the hell was that?!" It was like something lifted Naruto's foot off of the ground, what is he?

"You're a Leaf Genin too? Looks like your village is full of wimps." Kankuro digs at us, the others call out for the kid, Naruto gets up angrily.

"Hey, cut it out, it hurts!" Konohamaru cries out in a whimper.

"That's it, drop him now, or I take you apart, you got that fool!" Naruto yells, pointing at the teen clad in black, Sakura gets him in a headlock trying to stop him from doing anything stupid.

"You're the fool, making threats isn't going to help, Naruto!" Sakura rages on him.

"You're annoying, all of you, I don't like runts or any other scrounge weaklings. So when a wimp like this starts shooting off his mouth, I just wanna break him in half." Kankuro threatens the boy.

"Fine, I'm not involved in any of this, okay." His teammate brushes off his terrible behaviour

"First, I'll take care of this little squirt then I'll waste the other one." The teen says about to punch a poor defenceless kid, I slowly reach for my Kunai and run towards him as a pebble hits the boy on his hand, making him drop Konohamaru to the ground. I place my Kunai to his neck, he flinches back as I stare up at him with a hard glare.

"Sasuke, good timing," I comment and look over my shoulder to see him sitting on a tree branch, throwing another pebble in his hand.

"You're a long way from home, and you're way out of your league," Sasuke says as I let my Kunai down, but I keep it out.

"Sasuke!" Sakura perks up at the mere sight of him.

"Naruto!" Konohamaru calls out as he runs to the blond.

"Oh great another wimp to tick me off." Kankuro groans.

"Get lost." Sasuke sneers at him as he grumbles the pebble into dust.

"So cool!" His usual cheerleader gleams with Udon and Moegi.

"How come you're not cool like that!" Konohamaru accuses Naruto, who kneels in front of him trying to defend himself.

"What'ddya mean I could've taken that guy out in two seconds flat."

"Hey punk, get down here! You're the kind of pesky little snot that I hate most. All attitude and nothing to back it up." Kankuro says and takes the bandages away from his shoulders, and the bundle goes down to the ground.

"Are you going to use the crow for this?" The girl questions in shock.

"Kankuro, back off." A chilling voice cuts in, I look over to see a boy around our age standing upside down on another branch across from Sasuke, I could hear him, or sense him until now. "You're an embarrassment to our village."

"Hey, Gaara." Kankuro greets him, and his whole demeanour shows he fears the red-head.

_**Chunin Exam Arc**_

**3rd POV:**

At the Hokage building, the Jonin have gathered in the meeting room. The Jonin gather in front of the Third Hokage as he sits in his chair. "I have summoned you for a very important purpose. Seeing your fellow Jonin here, I'm sure you realise what this is about." The Hokage points out.

"So soon? I thought we'd have a little more time." Kakashi sighs, thinking about his little Genin.

"I take it the other lands have been notified about the coming event. I notice some of their Genin have already arrived here in the village." Asuma comments.

"And when do we start?" Kurenai asks the Hokage.

"We will begin in one week." The Hokage answers her.

"That's pretty short notice," Kakashi comments feeling a little unprepared for his Genin.

"Take heed, exactly seven days from today. On the first day of July, the Genin will be gathered and tested. Only the very best will be selected as Chunin." The Hokage announces.

_**Chunin Exam Arc**_

**Rio's POV:**

"Have you forgotten the reason we came all the way here." Gaara questions Kankuro who seems to be shivering in fear of the boy.

"I-1 know, I me-I mean they challenged us. They started the whole thing really. See here's what happened-" Kankuro tries explains but it comes out in a stutter.

"Shut up." Gaara stops him, and it seems to make the teen freeze. "Or I'll kill you."

"Right, I was totally out of line. I'm sorry Gaara, I was totally out of line." He apologises.

"I'm sorry for any trouble he caused," Gaara says, looking over at Sasuke before disappearing into Sand and lands on the ground in front of his fellow Sand Genin.

"Let's go. We didn't come here to play games."

"Alright, sure. I get it." Kankuro agrees, and they begin to walk.

"Hold on, hey!" Sakura calls out to them.

"What?" The girl asks as they stop turning around.

"I can tell from your headband that you come from the Village Hidden in the Sand. Of course, the Land of Fire and Land or Wind are allies, but no Shinobi can enter another's village without permission. So state your purpose, and it better be good!" Sakura tries to act smart.

"Really? Have you guys been living under a rock or what? You don't know what's going on? We have permission." The girl replies and holds up her registration with the seal of approval. "Of course, you're correct we are Sand Genin, our home is the Land of Wind. And we're here for the Chunin Exams."

"Those Exmans are close then, that's good to know, but you shouldn't start trouble, especially in a foreign place with the Hokage's grandson. Causing trouble may get you disqualified before you even get to participate in the exams to become Chunin." I warn them, they look somewhat annoyed at what I said, but I just smirk at them.

"I am so there!" Naruto cheers behind me at the mention of becoming a Chunin, seeing as it meant harder missions.

"Hey, you!" Sasuke calls out as he lands in front of us. "Identify yourself." The girl turns around, pointing to herself with a blush, great another fangirl.

"Who, you mean me?" She asks.

"No, him, the one with the gourd on his back," Sasuke replies not caring for delicate as usual,

"My name is Gaara of the Desert. I'm curious about you too, who are you?" He asks back once he answers.

"I am Sasuke Uchiha." He answers, and I feel his eyes on me. "That's Rio Haruno." He explains for me, I look at him with narrow eyes.

"Hey there! I better your dying to know my name, right?" Naruto asks.

"I couldn't care less." Gaara answers and turns around leaping away with the others.

"Hey, Konohamaru. Do I seem uncool or something?" He asks the kid.

"Well, compared to Sasuke and Rio yeah your pretty lame." He answers without a filter which upsets the blond.

"Ah! You're not gonna show me up Sasuke!" He yells, shaking his fists at him.

"Back off, loser." Sasuke bites back.

_**Chunin Exam Arc**_

**3rd POV:**

Back at the Hokage building with the Jonin and the Hokage, they continue to put forward the candidates for the upcoming Chunin Exam. "Alright, it is time we chose our candidates for the Chunin Examinations. To begin, those in charge of the rookie Genin step forward. Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma. What do you say, are there any in your squads you would recommend, who are ready for the exams despite their inexperience. As you know any Genin who has carried out 8 or more missions is technically eligible for the examinations. Beyond that only you can decide when they are ready. Of course, most Genin require a much longer training period, at least twice that many missions. Kakashi, you begin." Third explains and looks at the gravity-defying haired Jonin.

"I lead Squad 7, Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, the Haruno Twins, Rio and Sakura. I, Kakashi Hatake, recommend all four of these Genin for the Chunin selection exams." Kakashi announces.

"And my Squad is number 8, Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame. And now, I, Kurenai Yuhi recommend all three." She announces.

"And my Squad is number 10, Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi. And now I, Asuma Sarutobi, recommend all three." He announces which gets the rest of the Jonin whisper among themselves.

"Hold on just a minute!" Iruka cuts in, stepping forward.

_**Chunin Exam Arc**_

**Rio's POV:**

Another day, yesterday was delightful, Gaara of the Desert and his teammates, if the Chunin Exam is coming around, that means we could participate considering we've done over eight missions already. "Why? Why? Why!" Sakura screeches, breaking me from my thoughts. "It's always the same, he sets the time and then we have to wait for hours for him."

"It's not fair!" Naruto agrees with her.

"What about my feelings?! I rushed here so fast, I didn't even have enough time to blow dry my hair!" Sakura cries, I told her she had time, but she wouldn't listen.

"I didn't have enough time to brush my teeth or change my underwear!" Naruto adds in, I scrunch my nose in disgust.

"You didn't? That's really disgusting Naruto." Sakura voices and I hear Kakashi-sensei arrive, I look up to see him on top of one of the pillars again.

"Hey, good morning, everyone. Sorry, I'm late, afraid I got lost on the path of life." Sensei sort of apologises using the same excuse again.

"You lair!" Sakura and Naruto yell up at him.

"You used that one yesterday, Sensei," I remark as he jumps down in front of us.

"I know this is a bit sudden, but I've recommended you for the Chunin Exams. All four of you. These are the application forms." Kakashi-sensei announces and holds out four pieces of paper towards us.

"Application forms?" Sakura questions.

"You're repeating me Sakura. This is all voluntarily. It's up to each of you, if you don't feel ready, you can wait till next year." Sensei assures her, I know I wanna give it a try.

"Alright! Kakashi-sensei, you rock!" Naruto cheers and attacks Sensei in a hug.

"Don't slobber on my vest!" Kakashi-sensei cries out, and Naruto pulls away taking the form. "Whoever wants to take the exams, sign the application and come to room 301 at the Academy it's at 3:00 pm, five days from now. That's it."

"Chunin Exams! Chunin Exams!" Naruto cheers as he looks at the form, I take mine, and Kakashi-sensei leaves, and we get to go having the day to ourselves, I want to train some more with Nagi, there's a move I want to try, and I want to try performing one-hand signs like I saw Haku.

_**Chunin Exam Arc**_

I go to Training Ground 11 with my Naginata in hand, I look at the four blocks of wood in front of me, I lift Nagi and slice down hard, feeling a breeze from the harsh slash, slicing the four blocks in half. I wasn't close enough to them to get direct contact even with Nagi, I use the air around my attack, even if my enemy backs away at the last second, I'll get them. Suddenly, I feel a familiar presence behind me, I look around to see what appears to be an enemy Ninja from the Village Hidden in the Rain, he seems nervous, I spin Nagi around my hand then thrust it into the ground. "What exactly do you want?" I ask him, he steps forward.

"I am here to see if you're worth the right of taking the Chunin Exams." He replies and I can't help but scoff.

"As if you have the right to take them, how about I see if you're ready," I reply, he seems shocked by my attitude, but I'm more than confident I can take him out. I run towards him, but he jumps into the air to avoid me, I try to turn to face him, but before I can, he takes out what seems to be rope with weights on the ends, he throws them towards my ankles, I fall from the sudden stop before I can move he lands and places handcuffs with a chain around my wrists behind my back. I was taken down so quickly, maybe I'm not ready. No! I am! I crouch down and push with all my might into the air spinning to face him, I land on the ground and pull the chain apart with force, shocking the Ninja.

I don't give him time to focus and use the broken chain from my right hand to wrap around him, he tries breaking free, but I pull him towards me, he comes flying towards me as I pull back my left arm and swing hard into his face sending him flying. "I don't think you're ready to take the Chunin Exams, maybe next time." I retort as I walk away back home after picking Nagi up and pass the _Rain_ Ninja.

_**Chunin Exam Arc**_

**3rd POV:**

Night falls over the Leaf Village, Kakashi sits on the roof admiring the gibbous moon almost in full bloom when Iruka pops up behind him still in his Rain Ninja disguise. "So how did it go?" Kakashi asks him not looking back.

"They all made it, your Squad and the others, all ten Genin proved themselves for the exam." Iruka answers and changes back to his usual self. "You were right, Kakashi, they're good. They've all developed very impressive skills."

"Hmm, but the Chunin Exams can break anyone. We'll see if they can tough it out." Kakashi remarks and looks on around the village.

_**Chunin Exam Arc**_

**Rio's POV:**

I make it home finally, inside Sakura seems out of it as if something is plaguing her mind, I sit down at the table and begin eating, and I hope she'll come to the Exams, she's part of our team.

_**Chunin Exam Arc**_

Five days come and went, and it's time for the Chunin Exams, Sakura was acting weirder every day, and she seems to be thinking about something hard that it's clouding her judgement. "Sakura, it's time, we're gonna be late to meet Sasuke and Naruto," I warn her, she nods not giving me a verbal reply and walks out the door, I pick my med bag along with some supplies, not sure what the tests will be.

_**Chunin Exam Arc**_

Making it to the Academy a little later than the others as they're waiting for us. "Hey, Rio, Sakura, you're late." Naruto points out as we get closer.

"Uh, right. Sorry guys." Sakura actually replies. "Good morning, Sasuke." She greets her crush, and she seems different whatever happened to her has changed her.

"Let's get in, we're already behind," I tell them, and we go inside.

_**Chunin Exam Arc**_

Sasuke leads us in, we go up to the second floor, to see other Genin crowding around two others guarding a door which reads 301 but that doesn't make any sense this is only the second floor. Must be a Genjutsu. "Some of you may go crazy." The one on the left says as I hear the tail end. "For Chunin, it's always life and death."

"And you think it's a joke, Chunin are qualified to lead missions. The lives of your Squad members are in your hands, so you better be tough enough to take the heat? Delicate little girls don't belong here." The one on the right seems so self-righteous.

"We're just thining out the herd, you won't pass anyway so go home and play with your dolls." Lefty teases the girl kneeling down by the boy in a green spandex suit.

"Really nice speech, now both of you step aside and let me through," Sasuke orders the jerks as we walk towards them.

"And while you're at it, reverse the Genjutsu, we can see through your illusion anyway. We're going to the third floor." I tell them as I step up next to Sasuke.

"What does she mean, we're on the third floor?" I hear some of the others whisper behind us, I roll my eyes at those idiots, they aren't worthy of participating in these exams.

"I know." Another one whispers.

"Well, well," Righty smirks.

"You noticed the Genjutsu, huh?" Lefty questions.

"Go ahead, tell them Sakura. I'm sure you saw it before anyone else did." Sasuke tries to boost Saukra's confidence before we go inside.

"Huh?" She questions, breaking out of it.

"You do have the sharpest eyes and the best analytical skills on our Squad like Rio. you must have seen this coming from a mile away." Sasuke says, and I think that was a lovely compliment coming from the broody boy.

"I must have? Well, sure. Of course, sure, I spotted it right away, this is only the second floor." Sakura plays into it.

"Right." Naruto agrees, and they release the Genjutsu showing the room number as 201.

"Well, aren't we the smart ones, you saw through an illusion. Now let's see you deal with this." Righty grunts and spins on his heel going to kick Sasuke who counters it with his own kick but before they can connect, the boy in green stops them with only his hands. He was so fast, I barely saw him move, he stops those kicks as if they were nothing and Greenie doesn't have any bruising, they were fakes, he lets them go, Righty slips away, and Greenie's teammates come towards him.

"Hey, what happened to the plan? I thought you were the one who said to keep a low profile and don't let anyone see our skill level." The boy with long brown hair scolds Greenie.

"I know, but." Greenie curses, shaking his fist over at Sasuke.

"Never mind, it's over." The girl with buns sighs shaking her head, Greenie walks over passing Sasuke and me towards Sakura with a blush coating his cheeks.

"My name is Rock Lee, you are Sakura, right? Please, be my girlfriend, I vow to protect you with my life." Rock proposes, and I can't help snickering, no way she'd go for anyone but Sasuke.

"Definitely… not." Sakura answers him with a deadpan look on her face.

"Why?" He asks her.

"Because you're a weirdo." She answers, not bothering with mincing her words, he sulks a little, and Naruto laughs at his misfortune.

"Sasuke, he's trying to take your girl." I snicker and earn myself a mean glare from the Uchiha.

"Hey, you two over here, what are your names?" Long hair asks us.

"It's common courtesy to give your own name before asking someone else's." I point out.

"Hey, you're rookies, aren't you? How old are you anyway?" He asks another question.

"We're not obliged to answer," Sasuke replies which seem to tick the guy off.

"What's that?" He growls, and we walk away to the others, Rock Lee and Naruto seem to be sulking.

"Weirdo?" Lee whines.

"No one wants to know my name." Naruto whines.

"Hey, Naruto, Sasuke, Rio, come on, let's go," Sakura tells us and pulls the boys along to the end of the hall.

"Whoo! I am pumped!" I cheer as we walk away.

**Sorry, it took so long but I was having some computer issues as it kept needing to reload every five minutes but here it is! Hope you lie and I am already writing the next chapter! DEADGIRLETERNAL OUT!**


	7. Chunin Challange: Genin Takedown!

** Chunin Challenge: Genin Takedown! The Chunin Exams Begin! All or Nothing!**

_Chunin Exam Arc - Episode 22 - 25_

**Rio's POV:**

These Exams are going to be intense; I can't wait, we walk up the stairs and go to the third floor. "Hey, you, with the attitude. Hold on." A voice calls out; I turn around to see Greenie at the top of the stairs.

"What do you want?" Sasuke asks him.

"I want to fight. Right here, and right now." Lee replies, I nudge Sakura.

"It's your boyfriend." I joke, earning a slap on the arm from said-sister.

"You want to fight me, here and now, huh?" Sasuke repeats.

"Yes," Lee confirms and jumps down to our level. "My name is Rock Lee. You said that it was common courtesy for a challenger to give his own name first, right. Sasuke Uchiha."

"So, you know me?" Sasuke seems interested in this guy.

"I challenge you!" Lee announces and gets ready for a fight. "Everyone is always talking about the Uchiha Clan and how great they are. I want to see if that is true, I figure you will be a good test for me. And also-" He looks over at Sakura who freezes in fright at his stare. "Oh, Sakura, I love you."

"No! Those eyebrows can't be real! No! Your hairstyle is horrible, and your eyebrows are so bushy! You're such a weirdo!" Sakura shrieks in terror.

"You are an angel sent from heaven!" Lee proclaims.

"See her in the morning and you'll change your mind," I remark, earning another slap on the arm, as he sends her a kiss.

"No!" She shrieks as she dodges.

"That was a good move, but let us see you dodge this!" He sends multiple kisses her way, she dodges left and right and falls back too far, hitting her head.

"Hey, keep your creepy little valentines to yourself. I was dodging for my life there" Sakura yells at him.

"You do not have to be so negative, Sakura," Lee says, seeming hurt by her rejection.

"You've heard of the Uchiha Clan, yet you're challenging me. You must be even more psycho then you look if that's possible. You wanna know more about my Clan; I'll teach you, the hard way." Sasuke goes right for the ait.

"Bring it on" Lee accepts.

"Hold on!" Naruto cuts in. "I get him first; this weirdo is mine."

"Go for it." Sasuke lets him.

"Naruto." Sakura grits out.

"What it'll take two minutes to have this guy begging for mercy." Naruto boasts as if it could win, with how fast Lee seems I don't think Sasuke can win, not yet at least.

"No, thank you, right now the only one I want to fight is Uchiha." Lee rejects his challenge; he seems serious.

"Oh yea, well I've got news for you, Sasuke can't compare to me, believe it!" Naruto yells and runs in angry towards Lee, he jumps in the air ready to punch Lee, but he just taps his hand, sending him down. Naruto lands on his hands and spins trying to kick him, but Lee dodges the kick then crouches down and spin kicks Naruto's hands out from under him, sending him into the wall. Naruto looks dazed from the spin and hit; he'll be out for a while.

"Just accept it, you have no chance against me; your skills are inferior. You see Sasuke, out of all the top Leaf Genin I am the best. Fight me and let me prove it to you." Lee boasts a little, trying to bait the Uchiha.

"This'll be fun. Let's do it." Sasuke agrees.

"There's no time, Sasuke. We have to register by 3:00, that's in less than half an hour." Sakura warns him; I look at the clock behind Lee, she's right.

"Relax, this will all be over in five seconds," Sasuke assures her with too much confidence, and runs towards Greenie, he tries to punch him, but he jumps fast out of the way, Sasuke looks overhead. Lee spins in the air and lands fast-spinning again to hit Sasuke, who seems to get distracted by something and freezes up before he can block and gets caught in the face by Lee's foot. Sasuke goes flying towards us; Sakura calls out his name in worry as he comes tumbling down, and Lee gets to his feet.

Sasuke seems to struggle to get up, he did hit the floor pretty hard, but he looks okay now as he gets to his feet seeming more focused now. "I've been waiting to try this out." I look at him and see his eyes, the Sharingan! That means he'll be able to read Lee's moves but will his body be able to keep up? Let's find out. Sasuke runs towards Lee, but before he can even make a hit, Lee kicks him under his chin, making him go flying.

"You see, my technique is not Ninjutsu or Genjutsu," Lee announces before running towards Sasuke and throws more hits his way which seems to go through Sasuke's guard. "You get it now; I am using Taijutsu. That means no tricks, Sasuke." He jumps up and lands behind the Uchiha.

"I see, I thought so," I comment with a sigh as I watch the boys.

"It is just straight martial arts, nothing more," Lee explains.

"Why you," Sasuke growls trying to swing at Greenie, but he jumps back a step.

"I know your technique, forget it, it will not work, not on me. I know you get see-through your opponents Jutsu, that Sharingan gives you the ability to read his Chakra and decipher his hand signs and movements. You can guess what he's going to do almost before he knows himself. The problem is, Taijutsu is a little different." Lee explains.

"Right, so what's your point?" Sasuke asks him, he doesn't seem happy.

"I do not try to hide or disguise my moves. I do not have to; even if you can read them, you can still not stop them, you are too slow. Your eyes may be quick enough to stay one step ahead of me, but if your body can not keep up, what good does it do you." Lee monologues and he's not wrong.

"He's got a point," I remark, it seems Sasuke hear as he growls a little in frustration.

"You know what, here is what I believe there are two different kinds of Ninja. Those like you who are born with talent and do not have to work at it. And those like me the ones who have to train every day of our lives. Fact is, your Sharingan is the worst match for my extreme Taijutsu. Here is what I mean!" Lee kicks Sasuke again under the chin, sending him into the air, he jumps after him, appearing behind Sasuke.

"That looks like the Dancing Leaf Shadow!" I gasp, watching the two boys, in midair.

"Dancing Leaf Shadow," Sasuke repeats.

"Good eye, now I will prove my point." Lee remarks and loosens the bandages from around his arm; they float around, ready to wrap around Sasuke. "That hard work beats out natural talent. You're finished!" Before he can continue a pinwheel flies past and pins the end of his bandages to the fall, I look over to see what looks like a red and yellow tortoise, that does not look happy.

"This is bad." Lee comments as he looks over.

"Alright, that's enough, Lee." The Tortoise calls him, he just moves away and lands in front of the Tortoise, leaving Sasuke in the air.

"Sasuke!" Sakura calls out to him and runs, catching him before he falls.

"Sakura!" I call out to her see Sasuke sit up.

"Are you okay, Sasuke?" She asks him, but he seems shaken up from the fight.

"You were - you were watching us the whole time?" Lee questions the Tortoise.

"Of course, that last technique is forbidden, you know that." The Tortoise scolds him.

"I am sorry, I did not mean to." Lee tries to excuse himself, which doesn't go over well with the Summoning. "I was not planning to use a forbidden Jutsu it's just I was in the middle of the fight - and I mean, you understand, right!" Naruto runs over to Sakura and Sasuke, and I walk over.

"That weird thing he's talking to is a turtle, right?" Naruto asks, pointing over to the Tortoise and Lee.

"Obvious! What'd you this it is!" Sakura snaps at him.

"I think he's a tortoise." I cut in.

"Okay then, so maybe that means turtles can be Sensei too!" Naruto comments.

"How should I know if they can be Sensei too!" Sakura yells.

"He's obviously a Summoning," I tell them and they look at me with confusion.

"You're a disgrace! You think you'll get away with a bunch of lame excuses like that! A Shinobi reveals his techniques unless it's absolutely necessary, it's such a basic rule you should know it by now!" He continues to scold Lee.

"Forgive me, sir." Lee apologises wholeheartedly.

"Are you prepared to take the punishment for your actions?" He asks him.

"I-yes, sir." He accepts.

"Alright, then. Please come out, Guy-Sensei." He requests and with a puff of smoke and a guy like an adult version of Lee, pops in, striking a strange pose.

"Hey, what's shaking? How you doing everybody? Life treating you good?" I guess this is Guy-Sensei, greets us in the creepiest way possible.

"He's got the biggest eyebrows yet! They're almost alive" Naruto exclaims in surprise.

"Hi, Lee." Guy-Sensei greets his Squad member with a smile.

"Too weird!" Sakura cringes.

"It's an adult version of Lee!" I exclaim in shock.

"So that's where Lee gets it from? Same soup bowl haircut and even bushier eyebrows." Naruto comments, which ticks Lee off.

"Do not insult Guy-Sensei! He is one of the greatest men in the entire world!" Lee yells back at our blond.

"Well, excuse me, for not noticing his greatness, I was too busy watching him crawl out from underneath a turtle!" Naruto yells back.

"He did not crawl out!" Lee yells again.

"Give it a rest Lee," Guy-Sensei orders his student.

"Yes, sir," Lee says and turns around as Guy-Sensei gets down.

"Now, for your punishment!" He yells and punches him square in the jaw, knocking him away in front of us. "You little fool." He walks over as Lee sits up and kneels in front of him. "I'm sorry, Lee, but it's for your own good." He starts crying.

"Sen-Sensei!" Lee starts tearing up too.

"Oh, Lee!"

"Oh, Sensei, I am, so sorry!"

"Alright, you don't have to say anymore." Guy-Sensei cries out.

"Sensei!" They hug crying out each other's names as if it were reasonable and it just got worse.

"Actually, it's kind of sweet the way they're all huggy and stuff." Naruto comments.

"Huh, you've got to be kidding, they're both crazy!" Sakura exclaims.

"What a couple of weirdos," I comment watching the scene in front of me.

"You're just caught in between, you're too old to be called boy, and not yet quite a man." Guy-Sensei tears up again.

"You're so good to me, Guy-Sensei." Lee sobs.

"Now take off, I want you to give me a 100 laps around the practice field! Show me what you've got!" Guy-Sensei orders him, pointing to outside.

"Yes, sir, no problem!" Lee agrees, too quickly.

"Run, run into the setting sun, run and suffer, but don't mess up your hair. Let's go." He says, and Lee agrees about to walk off.

"Hey, wait a minute, we're not finished here, you guys can't just take off like that!" Naruto yells at them.

"And what about the Chunin Exams? There's no time for fooling around." Sakura points out.

"Oh, right, I forgot about that." He clears his throat. "Lee, you not only disobeyed the rule against no fighting, but you disrupted the Chunin Exams. I think that warners a lightly more severe punishment, don't you?"

"Yes, sir." Lee agrees.

"Let's say 500 laps! How does that sound?" He strikes another ridiculous pose.

"Outstanding sir!" Lee agrees, accepting that irrational number so quickly.

"They're insane." Sakura comments.

"Probably, but nevermind them, what's the deal with that turtle anyway?" Naruto asks, again.

"I told you it's a tortoise and a Summoning!" I snap and feel their gaze on us.

"No! He's looking at us!" Sakura cries and hides behind me.

"Hey, Sakura, stop it!" I cry out as she dodges his look.

"Tell me, how is Kakashi-Sensei?" Guy-Sensei asks us.

"Do you know him?" Sasuke asks him.

"Do I know Kakashi? People say he and I are archrivals for all eternity." Guy-Sensei replies.

"There's just no way!" Naruto and Sakura gasp, even I find it hard to believe.

"How dare you, if Guy-Sensei says it is true then-" Lee defends his Sensei.

"Let it slide Lee. A Ninja's actions always speak louder than words." He calms his student; he disappears and appears behind us. "My record is 50 wins, and 49 loses, which is one better than his by the way." I turn around to see him; he was swift, faster than Kakashi.

"What?" Sasuke gasps.

"Ah, you're kidding, how did he beat Kakashi!" Naruto exclaims in surprise.

"The fact is, I'm stronger than Kakashi, and faster." Guy-Sensei boasts,

"You see, Guy-Sensei is the best there is!" Lee jumps in.

"I'm sorry for the trouble he caused you, look into my eyes and accept my sincere apology also notice my handsome, manly features," Guy-Sensei says, with a creepy smile. "Lee, accompany these fine young Ninja to the classroom, right now." He uses his Kunai to knock the pinwheel from Lee's bandage, which he quickly wraps around his injured hand; I see the bruising, that's too much even the human body can not handle. He works so hard and has come along way. "Remember, give it your best! Lee, farewell!"

"Yes, sir!" Lee replies before Guy-Sensei leaves along with his Summoning. "Hey, Sasuke, actually I have not been totally honest with you. I said I wanted to test my skill, and that is true enough, but you are not really the one I want to test them against. I lied to you when we were fighting before; I told you I am the best Genin here, but there is another top Ninja someone on my own team. I came here to defeat him; you were just practice. Now you are a target; I will crush you! There you have it, consider yourself warned!" He jumps up to the top of the staircase and leaves.

"Oh, Sasuke." Sakura pampers his ego.

"How about that, looks like the Uchiha's aren't as great as everyone thinks they are." Naruto eggs him on.

"Naruto." Sakura scolds him.

"Just shut up! Next time I'll drive him to his knees!" Sasuke vows.

"Yeah right, who just got his butt kicked!" Naruto replies.

"Stop it, what are you saying! Just cut it out Naruto, you didn't do any better." I point out, and he looks at me, annoyed.

"You saw his hands, didn't you? When he took off the tape. I bet old bushy brow has been training until he drops. Day in and day out, he trains harder than you. That's all I'm saying." Naruto adds and I agree he must train harder than most of us.

"Fine. This thing is starting to get interesting. The Chunin Exams can't wait to see what's next!" Sasuke smirks.

"Right!" Naruto agrees.

"Yeah, bring it!" I add in next to Sakura.

"Let's get started! Naruto, Rio, Sakura!"

"Yeah!" Naruto cheers as we walk off towards room 301.

_**Chunin Exam Arc**_

We make it to the room where the Chunin Exam's first test is held; I feel butterflies in my stomach as we get closer and I see Kakashi-sensei standing in front of the door waiting for us. "Glad you came, Sakura. For your sake and the others. Now you can all formerly register for the Chunin Exams." Kakashi-sensei greets us.

"Why what'd you mean?" Sakura asks him.

"You see, only whole groups are allowed to apply for and take the Exam, its the way it's always been," Sensei explains.

"But Sensei, you said the decision to take the Exam was up to the individual," Sakura replies.

"That's right, I did." He confirms.

"Was that a lie?" Sakura asks him sort of.

"It is an individual decision, but it affects all of you. I didn't tell you before because I didn't want the other guys to pressure you." I take hold of Sakura's hand telling her I'm glad she showed up, regardless. "At the same time, I didn't want you to feel obliged to participate because of any feelings for Rio and Sasuke, even Naruto. I wanted you to come to the decision of your own free will." He explains his reasons.

"Wait a minute, do you mean if the others had shown up, but I had decided not to come with them?" Sakura asks him.

"It would have been the end of the line, if you hadn't come along, I couldn't have been able to let them in. But it's at a moot point; you're all here, and for the right reasons." Sensei assures us. "Sakura, Naruto, Rio, and Sasuke." I smile at him as he looks at us seeming proud of us. "I'm proud of you. I couldn't ask for a better team. Good luck." Called it!

"We won't let you down, Sensei," Naruto tells him, and Sakura and Sasuke switch sides and open the door as we walkthrough, I open the door again.

"Sensei, we met your eternal rival, he seems interesting." I giggle seeing his almost horror-filled facial expression or what I could make out with the mask in the way and close the door to see the room full of other Genin, they all look pretty scary and intimidating.

"Whoa, what's this?" Naruto gulps.

"Gee, I guess we're not alone." Sakura gasps in surprise.

"I feel slightly better knowing we're last," I comment as I look around the room, seeing some familiar faces among the large crowd.

"Sasuke where've you been!" I hear the shrill voice of Ino Yamanaka; she attacks Sasuke in a hug, which he's not happy about. "Boy, you have no idea how much I was hoping you'd show up here, I've missed your brooding good looks of yours."

"I don't think he missed you, Ino," I remark seeing his poor face.

"Hey, you Porker, back off he's mine!" Sakura yells at her angrily.

"Miss Forehead, they let you in? Still got those big frown lines on your billboard brow, I see." Ino digs at her.

"Leave my forehead out of it!" Sakura snaps at her.

"Oh, it's you guys?" Shikamaru sighs, I look over to see him and Choji who is still munching on chips. "I knew it was going to be a drag, but I didn't know it was going to be this lame."

"So all three stooges are here." Naruto insults them.

"Hey you know what pipsqueak- ah forget it, it's a waste of time," Shikamaru complains.

"You really give up halfway through a threat, Maru?" I ask him; he looks bored as always.

"Sorry, but Sasuke's all mine." Ino sticks her tongue out at Sakura, riling her up.

"Well, well, what'd you know it looks like the whole gangs back together again," Kiba says as he walks over with Shino and Hinata.

"Hello, Rio." She greets, and I look over smiling, jumping over, hugging her as she blushes at the attention.

"Still super shy, poor little flower." I gush as she blushes more.

"You guys too huh, man everyone's here for this stupid thing." Shikamaru groans in irritation, it's probably because of Kiba.

"Yep, here we all our, the Ten Rookie." He laughs. "This is gonna be fun. At least for those of us good enough to make the cut, right Sasuke?" Kiba brags trying to bait the rest of us.

"Kiba, careful you don't get overconfident," Sasuke warns him.

"Just wait, we're gonna blow you guys away, we've been training like crazy." Kiba boasts some more.

"What do you think we've been doing? Sitting around, picking daisies! You don't know what training means!" Naruto yells at him.

"Don't mind Kiba; I'm sure he didn't really mean anything by it." Hinata quietly assures Naruto who looks at her, making her cringe into my jacket. Choji walks towards Kiba in a daze as he looks up at Akamaru when Shino gets in his way stopping him.

"What do you want? What's wrong?" Choji asks Shino as he looks up at him then sees Shino looking down at the ground, I follow to see a bug crawling across between their feet.

"Thought you hadn't seen it, didn't want you stepping on it," Shino tells him, the most he'll say all day most likely.

"Why? You saving it for lunch?" Choji asks him.

"Hey, you guys?" A strange kid with glasses calls out to us. "You might wanna try keeping it down little. I mean no offence but you're the Ten Rookies, right? Fresh out of the Academy. I wouldn't go making a spectacle of yourselves, just cool it, this isn't a class field trip."

"Well, who asked you? Who are you?" Ino demands in her shrill voice.

"I'm Kabuto Yakushi. But really look around you, you've made quite an impression." He tells us, I look over my shoulder, he was right, everyone was staring at us with mean looks. "See those guys? They're from the Rain Village, very touchy, they all our. This Exam makes everyone tense, and you don't want to rub them the wrong way right now. You can't help it; I mean, how could you know how things work, you're just rookies. You remind me of myself a while back."

"Kabuto, is that you're name?" I ask him, walking towards him.

"Yeah." He replies.

"This isn't the first time you've taken the Exam?" I ask him; I don't get a good vibe from him, not one bit.

"No, it's my seventh. Well, they're held twice a year, so this would be my fourth year." Kabuto explains.

"Wow, a veteran. You must really be an expert by now." Sakura compliments him.

"Yeah, sort of." He replies.

"Cool, you can give us all the inside tips." Naruto grins.

"Yeah, some expert he's never passed." Shikamaru points out.

"Well, seventh times a charm, that's what they say." Kabuto laughs it off.

"So I guess all those rumours about the Exam being tough are true. Oh man, I knew this was going to be a drag." Shikamaru signs.

"You think breathing is a drag." I joke, poking his side.

"Hang on, don't give up hope yet. Maybe I can help you kids out a little, with my Ninja info cards." Kabuto assures the lazy Ninja.

"What the heck are those?" Sakura asks him.

"It's hard to explain, but these cards have been Chakra in coded with everything I've learned over the past four years," Kabuto tells us as he kneels down placing his cards down. "I've got more than 200 of them, so you see, I haven't been totally wasting my time. They might not look like much to the naked eye; in fact, they appear blank. Don't want just anyone seeing this stuff," He starts spinning the card around with his index finger.

"What are you doing?" I ask him as I watch his movements.

"You see, I'm using my Chakra to reveal their secrets, like this, for example." He forms a hand sign and with final spin, a map of the local lands.

"Awesome, a map, of what?" Sakura asks him.

"It shows the geographical distribution of all the candidates who have come to take the Chunin Exam. What villages they've come from and how many from each village. Why do you guys think they all come here together at the same time?" Kabuto explains and looks around our little group. "It's the foster friendship between Nations, of course, international brotherhood and all that. And it's true enough as far as it goes."

"But there's another reason?" Sasuke asks him.

"Yeah, you see the important thing is this way they can carefully regulate the total number of Shinobi that end up in each village and thereby maintaining the balance of power," Kabuto explains.

"Oh yeah, the balance of power," Naruto repeats as if in thought.

"Balance of power, big deal, it's all a drag," Shikamaru grunts and Kabuto releases his Chakra making the card blank again.

"If the balance isn't maintained, one nation could wind up with many more Shinobi than it's neighbours and it might be tempted to attack them, so they try to maintain the status quo. It makes sense, I suppose." He continues his explanation and puts his card away.

"Do those cards of yours have info on the other candidates? Individually?" Sasuke asks him, stepping forward.

"They might. You have someone special in mind?" Kabuto asks him with a sly look.

"I might," Sasuke replies.

"Well, I can't promise mu information is complete or perfect, but I've got something on just about everyone. Including you guys, of course." He sends a chill down my spine as he looks at me as if he knows something I don't. "So, which one is it? Tell me anything you know about them, a description, where they're from, whatever, anything at all."

"He's Gaara of the Desert, and there's Rock Lee of the Leaf Village, while you're at it," Sasuke tells him of the two he's gained attention from and wants to fight.

"Man. that's no fun, you even know their names. That makes it easy." He whines and picks up his cards, slicing the card off the top, he picks out two cards and shows them. "Here they are."

"Show 'em to me," Sasuke orders him seeming more stern than usual.

"Okay, first up is Rock Lee," Kabuto announces and spins the card around applying Chakra, and it soon shows his information. "Looks like he's about a year older than you guys. Mission experience, 11 C-Ranks and 20 D-Ranks, his Squad Leader is Guy, and in the last 12 months, his Taijutsu has radically improved, but his other skills are pretty shaky. Last year he got a lot of attention as a Genin, but for some reason, he chooses not to participate in the Chunin Exam. This will be his first time as a candidate same as you guys; his teammates are Tenten and Neji Hyuga."

"Hyuga, huh?" Naruto repeats not realising it's Hinata's last name too; this must be her cousin she told me about.

"Now for Gaara of the Desert." He puts down the next card and spins it around to reveal information. "Mission experience, 8 C-Ranks, and get this 1 B-Rank, as a Genin, there's not a lot more information on this guy. He was a rookie from another land originally, but there is this, he survived every mission without getting a scratch on him."

"The dude's done a B-Rank as a Genin and has never even been injured?" Shikamaru questions in shock.

"What's the deal with this guy?!" Naruto gasps in surprise and Kabuto gets out the same card from behind and shows the map again.

"Leaf, Sand, Rain, Grass, Waterfall, Sound, from the looks of it, they've all sent exceptionally skilled candidates to the Exam this time around. Of course, the Hidden Sound Village is small it sprang up recently no one knows anything about it those guys are a mystery. Well, you get the point, the competition is going to be intense this year."

"So it would seem, it's almost enough to make you lose your confidence." Hinata gasp and holds onto my jacket sleeve nervously.

"It's a fine time to start talking like that!" Ino yells in her shrill voice as usual.

"Shut up, Ino," I warn her.

"Do you really think it gonna be tougher this time?" Sakura asks him.

"Oh yeah, in the four years I've been coming. I've never seen a crop of candidates with as much potential as this bunch. Yep, we've got our work cut out for us." Kabuto answers.

"Seems almost too interesting now." I grin big as I shake with excitement, Hinata looks up at me as I grin down at her.

"Hey, don't worry Naruto, we'll be fine." Sakura tries to reassure Naruto, but he just yells and points into the crowd of scary Genin.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and I am gonna beat every one of ya!" Naruto vows with a big goofy grin on his face. "Oh, yes!"

"Hey, what's that idiot trying to do? Get us killed!" Ino shrieks. "Tell your sister's boyfriend to keep his big trap shut!"

"Whose boyfriend!" Sakura glares at her.

"Oh, I forgot, you can't get one!" Ino goads him.

"What'd you say!" Sakura yells back.

"Oh yea, I feel a lot better now!" Naruto sighs in relief; I laugh slapping him on the back.

"Go for it Naruto." I giggle, he stumbles a little forward and grins as he looks back catching his footing.

"Uh, can you say that again, a little louder? Didn't quite catch it." Kiba jokes, covering his mouth.

"You moron, are you trying to get everybody in the place to hate our guts or what?" Shikamaru asks him, annoyed.

"Naruto, you jackass! Why'd you have to go and say something like that! You obnoxious little-" Sakura cusses at him as she puts him in an arm lock, choking the life out of him, she looks to see the deathly glares coming from the other candidates. "Oh hi everyone," She laughs nervously looking into the sea of scary-looking Genin. "Don't mind him, sometimes he says these spazzy things, he doesn't really mean them, they just kind of come out. He's got this condition you know, kind of a psychological thing; he really should be on medicine." She lets him go and starts scolding him. "Now see what you've done, Naruto, you've hurt everyone's feelings! They think you don't respect them, but that isn't true, is it, Naruto?" I feel eyes on us, then something fast coming our way, I look into the crowd and see three blurs as they come closer. "Would you just once in your life think about what you're doing! Think about the rest of us!"

"Fine." Naruto agrees begrudgingly, then I see it, the Sound Genin, the ones Kabuto poked at, the one with spikey black hair jumps from the table, closest to Kabuto and throws two Kunai at his feet, making glasses skid back towards the wall. The mummy guy pops up in front of Kabuto, taking a couple of swings at him, which Kabuto dodges, but it's like my late attack it doesn't have to hit, he's using something else.

"He got ya," I state, once I see Kabuto's smirk and his glasses shatter, most likely from a specific Sound frequency, the pieces of glass fall to the floor, Kabuto seems fine for now.

"Oh, I get it. So it was that kind of attack." Kabuto comments as he takes his broken glasses off.

"Hang on, I saw it all; he dodged the attack. How did that happen?" Sasuke questions as he walks towards me.

"It must have come closer than it looked. Look at him, acting like nothing happened, really tough guy." Shikamaru scoffs.

"Wait for it," I tell him as, I see the dizziness take effect as he loses his balance and fall to his knees and throws up, due to the sudden disorientation.

"What? Did he just-" Naruto gasps looking on, in shock.

"Kabuto, what's wrong? What is it?" Sakura asks, and the two of them run to his aid.

"Hey, Kabuto!" Naruto calls out to him.

"Are you okay?" Sakura asks him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kabuto assures them.

"Are you sure?" I ask him as I walk towards them. "Sudden disorientation can leave you dizzy for a few minutes, throwing up is normal." He looks up at me as I look at the three Sound Ninja.

"Write this on your little card punk: the Genin from the Sound Village will be Chunin when this is over, guaranteed." The boy with spikey hair boasts as if they have a chance.

"Cute trick, by the way," I remark as I lift my right arm, the one in the middle's eye widens as If he didn't expect me to figure it out, but that doesn't mean I'll be able to counter it in a fight, but I can try. Suddenly there's a bang from the front of the classroom; I look to see smoke clearing to show a group of Shinobi all in grey uniforms and one in the front all in black.

"Alright, you baby faced degenerated, pipe down and listen up!" The main man shouts, "It's time to begin. I am Ibiki Morino, your Proctor. And from this moment your worst enemy." He introduces himself and points at the back of the class towards us. "First, you candidates from the Village Hidden in the Sound, knock it off. Who told you, you could fight? You wanna be failed before we've even begun?"

"Sorry, it's our first time, guess we're a little jumpy, sir," The mummy boy replies as he looks over his shoulder, which seems to humour our Proctor.

"I'll say this once, so listen up. There will be no combat between candidates, no attacking each other without the permission of your Proctor, and even then the use of fatal force is strictly prohibited. Anyone who even thinks of messing with me will be disqualified immediately. Got it?" He glares, and I have a feeling, fatal force is what everyone is thinking of doing, even more now.

"No fatal force? That's no fun." Spikey comments too smug but probably won't make it to the final round.

"Now if we're ready, we'll proceed to the first stage of the Chunin Exam. hand over your paperwork, in return, you'll each be given a number, this number determines where you will sit. Well, start the written test once you're all seated." Ibiki explains and shows a card with the number 1 in big black ink.

"What? Did he say? Written?" Naruto begins freaking out. "No! Not a written test, no way!"

"It'll be fine Naruto, don't think too hard, we're here for you and anyway you've faced harder things than some written test." I try calming him down, which seems to work somewhat as we all line up with our paperwork. I got number 12, I was right at the front, man, what a pain. I almost sound like Shikamaru, I take my seat, and I don't recognise anyone, I'm all alone, in a sea of strange Genin from other lands. Least it's a test, that means I should ace it as Sakura, and I study the same subjects, meaning she'll be okay too, Sasuke as well but Naruto's going to struggle, maybe near the end, I can swap mine with his and fill out his? I could get away with it if I'm sly enough, but I'll have to finish my test fast, and I need enough time, in the end, to fill out Naruto's test paper, I hope he doesn't write on it!

"Everyone, eyes front, there are a few rules you need to be aware of, and I won't answer any questions, so you better pay attention the first time around," Ibiki announces, I scrunch up my nose in annoyance, that's a pain. "Alright, rule number one is this, the written part of the exam is conducted on a point reduction system, contrary to what some of you may be used to, you all begin the test with the perfect score of 10 points. 1 point will be deducted for each question you get wrong, so if you miss three, your final score will be seven." He explains as he writes on the chalkboard. "Rule number two, teams will pass and fail on the score of all team members." He drops a huge bombshell, that means even if Sasuke, Sakura and I do great if Naruto fails we all fail!

"What?! Wait a second, you're saying we all get scored as a team!" Sakura yells from near the back; I shake my head at her outburst.

"Silence, I have my reasons! So shut up and listen!" He yells at her; I clench my fist in anger, I can't snap at him, I could get us in serious trouble. "Rule number three, the sentinels you see positioned around the room, are there to watch you carefully for any signs of cheating. And for every incident they spot, they will subtract 2 points from the culprit's score."

"What?!" A random candiadate gasps.

"Be warned their eyes are extremely sharp and if they catch you 5 times you'll be dismissed before the tests are even scored. Anyone fool enough to be caught cheating by the sentinels, you don't deserve to be here." He warns us, I look over on my right to the sentinel, they all seem smug, but I don't plan on cheating, not yet anyway. "If you want to be considered Shinobi, then show us what exceptionally Shinobi you can be. One more thing, if any candidate should get a zero and fail the test, then the entire team fails."

"What'd he say!" Sakura screams we're doomed, but I already figured that was the case with the whole teams scoring and failing rule.

"The final question won't be given out until the 15 minutes before the testing period, you'll have one hour total." He announces, he looks at the clock at the back of the room. "Begin!" I turn my paper over, these are all hard questions way about Genin level, maybe harder than Chunin, but why? I need to finish this fast so I can swap it with Naruto's test, and I can't get caught by those sentinels around the room or by our Proctor. I feel the sentinels' eyes on me, as I write, no way someone could get away with cheating, I've tried keeping an eye out on routines, they seem quick to catch movement, so if I hide my hands under the table they'll get suspicious, that's out. I hear Akamaru yip from behind me, Kiba must be using him to cheat, they seem to understand the principle behind this test, I hope the others have figured it out, or we're in trouble, and I'm not getting thrown out just yet.

It's been around over 20 minutes into the test already. I'm almost finished when the front sentinel stands to his feet and throws a Kunai to the back.

"What the? What was that all about?" A guy in the back, I look over to see Naruto all shook up, looks like he was about to cheat, off poor sweet Hinata.

"Five strikes and your out. You just failed the test." The sentinel explains.

"What it can't be." The guy shakes out.

"You and your teammates will leave the room immediately." He orders them, his teammates get up from their seats, not looking happy at all.

"Candidate number 23, fail, number 43 and 27, fail." The sentinel at the front announces.

"It's not fair, now way! I didn't do anything, I didn't do anything!" As time goes on, more people keep getting thrown out, and most of them don't like it.

"No! No way! Who says I cheated five times, where's your proof! How can you keep track of all of us! You've got the wrong guy! How do you know I wasn't just-" The guy shouts, I shake my head as the sentinel at the front right corner with the top of his head bandaged up, jumps at him, smacking him away and crashing into the wall on the other side of the room, holding him by his neck.

"Sorry, pal, we were chosen for this duty, because we don't make mistakes like that. You can't blink without us seeing it. We're the best of the best, and you, my friend are history, now get out, take your teammates with you." The sentinel says, and I have to say, I've seen some cheating from the guy next to me, but they are subtle, but that guy clearly wasn't, not one bit.

More time's gone past, and more people are getting disqualified, it seems to rise the closer we get to the end. "Number 59, you fail."

"Numbers, 33, and 9 fail!"

"Number 41, fail!"

"Number 35, and 62, fail!"

"Hey, no way!" Another protester shouts before getting silences with a punch. That's over thirteen teams have been dismissed from the test now. Least it's not any of us. It's getting close to the 15-minute mark, I'll have to do it soon, but… oh, I forgot, the puff of smoke, it'll be undeniable, what am I going to do! I can't use a Substitution Jutsu, I'll have to come up with something else, think! Maybe I can use the wiring in my Nagi, it's thin enough not to be seen unless you're looking for it, I could try to swap mine and Naruto's paper simultaneously and quickly fill in the answers before the tenth question. I just hope Naruto doesn't do anything stupid.

I have ten minutes before the question is readout. I quickly write Naruto's name at the top and yawn loudly, gaining both the sentinel's attention and Hinata's. I look over my shoulder at her and rub my eye, she smiles understanding and nods, I write on my hand 'I'm going to swap Naruto and my paper, let him know, I'm ready.' I quickly scrape it off, knowing she saw it and was hopefully telling Naruto, as I stretch my arms over my head before letting them fall to my sides. I pull the thin wire from the parts of Nagi, I can fix it later, if necessary and pull it till I was enough and snap the ends. I pull out both my earrings thankfully I chose to wear hoops today and hook the corner not visible and tie the other end of the wire around each earring.

I watch the sentinels as he eyes someone behind me, the one on my right is looking at me. I cough loudly, signalling Hinata and just in time another candidate flips out and needs to be taken outside. The sentinel on my right leaves with said-candidate and I drop my pencil to the floor and slide my earring toward Hinata's foot, it hits her, and she steps on it. I get back up waiting for her to place Naruto's paper, I feel her tug, meaning it was done. Now the hard part, swapping them fast enough not to get caught. I watch as the sentinel comes back to his seat, I flick my rubber at the chair leg just as he sits, nudging it, causing him to fall. The sentinels around him cause a fuss, and I place the paper on the ground and see Hinata do the same before we both slide it, making it meet in the middle before coming back to us. I unhook my earing and notice I now have Naruto's paper. Completely blank, I reel in the wire carefully before putting it in my jacket pocket and start writing, once I take my neighbour's rubber taking Naruto's name off. 5 minutes left till the tenth question!

"Alright, listen up! The tenth and final question!" Morino announces, and I'm just in time! "But before I give you the question, there are some more rules that you need to be aware of." The door opens, I look behind to see that Sand Genin Kankuro come in with a sentinel that doesn't seem right. "Ah, made it just in time, I hope you found your trip to the bathroom, enlightening." Seems he's aware it's a puppet, but he's not gonna do anything? "Well, take your seat." The guy walks off and sits a few rows behind me. "These questions are unique to question 10, listen carefully, and try to not let them frighten you." he looks out to the classroom. "Very well then, rule number one, each of you free to choose not to be given the final question. It's your decision."

"Woah! So what's the catch? Let's say we decide we don't want to do it? What happens then?" The girl from the Sand asks him.

"If you chose not to take the tenth question regardless of your answers to the other nine, you'll get a zero. In other words, you fail, and that means, of course, your teammates fail, as well." Everyone erupts in whispers, "Not so fast, you didn't let me finish. If you do accept the question but answer it incorrectly, you will not only fail, you will be barred from taking the Chunin Exam ever again!" He drops a massive bomb on us, this is bad!

"Hey, that's bull, man! That's ridiculous! What kind of bogus rule is that! There's a lot of people who've taken the test before!" Kiba barks along with Akamaru in disagreement, which seems to make Ibiki laugh.

"I guess you're just unlucky. I wasn't making the rules before, but I am now. Of course, if you don't wanna take it, you don't have to." That seems to shut Kiba up as he sits back down in his seat."If you're not feeling confident, then, by all means, skip it, you can come back and try again next year." He laughs then grows quiet, I can feel a thick atmosphere around the room from everyone, everyone seems nervous, and I get why, but I've got to have faith that Naruto will be okay. "Now then, if you're ready, the tenth and final question, those who don't want to take it, raise your hand, your number will be recorded then you're free to go." I wait for numbers to be called off, hoping mine wasn't one of them because the others chickened out, we've got this!

"I'm out!" A guy calls out from behind me, "That's it, I'm out." I turn around to see him get up from next to Naruto. "I just can't do it, I'm sorry."

"Number 50, fail!" A sentinel announces. "Number 130, number 110, that means you too, out!"

"Gennei, Inaho, I'm sorry guys." The guy apologises to his teammates as they get up. "I'm so sorry."

"That's it, I quit!" Another one calls out, and more people raise their hands around the room and leave the room, I look around, and I see the one thing I hoped I wouldn't Naruto with his hand in the air, no Naruto what about your dream! Naruto looks as if he's struggling with his body and slams his hand on the table.

"Don't underestimate me, I don't quit, and I don't run! You can act tough all you want, you guys aren't going to scare me off! No way! I don't care if I do get stuck as a Genin for the rest of my life," Naruto shout and gets up from his chair taking a stand." I'll still be Hokage someday!" He sits back down in his chair, crossing his arms and I can't help shake my head at his antics, why would I be worried about that idiot.

"Of course, Hokage Naruto," I whisper with a smile.

"This decision is one that could change your life, and for any reason you'd rather quit, now's your last chance," Ibiki warns him.

"No way, I never go back on my word, that's the way of the Ninja," Naruto answers him, seeming cooler than usual.

"Well then, I admire your determination if nothing else, for those of you remaining, there's only one thing left to do. And that's for me to tell you that you've all passed the first exam."

"Woah! Hold on! What just happened! What'd you mean we passed? Where's the tenth question?" Sakura yells as she stands up from her seat, making him laugh, but it was a different kind of laugh.

"There never was one. Not a written one at least, actually your decision to stay was the answer to the tenth question." He explains gleefully.

"Wait a second, so the other nine questions, you gave us, were a waste of time, is that what you're saying?" The Sand girl asks him rudely.

"No, no, not at all. Quite the opposite, the first nine questions had an important overriding purpose. To test your abilities to surreptitiously gather strategic intelligence under the most adverse circumstances." He explains in the most complicated way.

"Oh, well, that explains everything." She mutters to herself, I feel you.

"Let me explain, you see my objective was to test you not only as individuals but as a team, and how well you function as a part of that team, that's why the test was scored on a team bases. So you'd know everything you did or failed to do would directly affect your teammates. I wanted to see how you handled the pressure." Ibiki explains.

"Hmm, I figured it was something like that, that's why I kept my cool." Naruto lies outright.

"Liar, liar, pants on fire." I sing in a teasing tone, causing him to blush.

"The first nine questions on the test were difficult, in fact, as you may have released, too difficult for any Genin to be expected to solve. I imagine that most of you quickly came to that conclusion, that'd you'd have to cheat if you have any chance of passing. The fact is, the test was designed to encourage cheating, it almost demanded it. Of course, it would've done little good, unless you had someone to cheat from, so I disguised two Chunin who already knew the answers sit in with you." He points to the two who raise their hands, which I see Naruto knew nothing about.

"Oh, come on, I wasn't fooled for a second, you'd have to be a complete doofus not to see it. Isn't that right, Hinata?" He asks her, laughing it off.

"Those who caught at it, failed, better not to cheat, than to cheat clumsily." He continues and takes out his headband to show his head, man it was a mess, he must be tough! "Information, it can be the most valuable weapon in battle, how well you gather intelligence can determine if a mission is a failure or success. They'll be times you'll have to risk your life to get it."

"Woah," I whisper at the sight of the scars on the top of his head before he puts his headband back on.

"Of course, you must always consider the source of your information, intelligence gathered from an enemy is not necessarily accurate, always bear this in mind. Disinformation can be worse than no information at all, it can lead to the death of comrades or the loss of a village, that's why I put you in the position where you had to gather accurate intelligence. Cheat, in order to survive, and that's why those who weren't good enough at it were weeded out, leaving the rest of you." He explains; further, he's not wrong.

"Okay, but I'm still not getting what the tenth questions thing is all about?" Sand girl questions.

"You're not? The tenth question was the main point of the whole exam. Surely you see that?" He asks.

"Sure, but explain it anyway." Sakura answers, she doesn't get it at all.

"As I said before, the goal was to test you not only as individuals but as a part of a squad. The final question gave you two choices, both difficult. You could choose to play it safe and skip the question though it meant that you and your teammates you would be failed. Or you could try and answer it, knowing if you got it wrong you would lose your chance of every being Chunin. It was a no-win situation, but just thSortrt, Chunin have to face almost every day. For example, let me give you a hypothetical mission to steal a scroll from an enemy stronghold. You have no idea how many Ninja the enemy has or how heavily armed they are, furthermore, you have reason to believe that the enemy expects you, that you might very well be walking blindly into a trap. Now, do you have the option to of taking a pass on this insane mission, of saying my comrades and I would rather live to fight another day, can you choose to avoid danger? No! There will be many missions that will seem almost suicidal if you think about it, but you don't think about it. You think only of the goal, and achieving it through courage and discipline. These are the quality required of a Chunin squad leader. Those who chose the safer of two paths. Those who determination falters in the face of diversity. Those who would put their comrades lives in jeopardy by worrying about their own. Those who would save their own necks at the price of sacred honour will never be able to call themselves Chunin, at lease, as long as I'm here. As for the rest of you, you have successfully answered the ten questions I put to you, you have earned the right to continue on to the next step. You have passed through the first gate, I hereby declare this part of the Chunin Selection Exam completed. There's nothing left, but to wish you all good luck."

"Oh, right! We did it! That's one down! Yeah! Yeah! Whoo! Yeah!" Naruto cheers, dancing around on the spot, I can't help giggling at his enthusiasm, till a fall of fabric crashes through the window, glass flies everywhere, two hands throw Kunai into the ceiling unravelling the black cloth which reads 'Second Examiner Anko Mitarashi'.

"Is this part of the test?" Naruto wonders aloud as I look at the woman she seems odd, I mean who crashes through a window!

"Heads up, boys and girls, this is no time to be celebrating, I'll be your next Proctor, Anko Mitarashi. Are you ready for the second test? Good, then let's go! Follow me!" She seems way too lively after this gruelling test.

"You're early, again," Ibiki states coming out from behind the fabric. Seems it's a usual occurrence with her, as she gets a little flustered.

"How many are there, Ibiki, you let all these guys pass, your test was too easy. You must be getting soft." Anko lightly scolds him.

"Or it could be a stronger crop of candidates this year." He retorts to her comment, that was nice of him.

"Hmm, they sure don't look it, trust me before I'm done with them, more than half will be eliminated." She remarks, and I feel a cold aura coming from her, that's not good, but I feel a buzzing inside, I can't wait to see what she's got in store for us.

"More than half, really?" Sakura asks her.

"This is gonna be fun. Alright, you maggots you've had it easy so far, but things are going to be different starting first thing in the morning, I'll let your squad leaders know where you're to meet me. Dismissed." She says, and I get up, walking around the table towards Hinata and Naruto, I want out of here.

_**Chunin Exam Arc**_

**3rd POV:**

Ibiki Morino walks around the classroom picking up the papers, looking at all of the tests. Some had gotten all nine questions right, some a few wrong and others dead wrong, he picks up another, number 53, Naruto Uzumaki, his handwriting looks familiar, he looks through to number 12, Rio Haruno. Ibiki wonders when they had been able to pull this off, Ibiki remembers one of his sentinels falling over, it must have been then, but Ibiki wonders how they had done it without even one of his sentinels catching them. He couldn't help the grin spread across his face as he thinks about the crop of candidates, and he wonders who will make it as Chunin.

_**Chunin Exam Arc**_

**Rio's POV:**

Kakashi-sensei was actually on time this morning as he told us to go to Battle Training Ground 44 where we'll start our second test, he made a remark about how surprised he was that we passed, which didn't go over well with Naruto or the rest of us. In front of us is a giant forest with tall trees, it looks spooky and deadly all in one, I think I saw a skeleton somewhere. "Woah, nice place, what is it?" Naruto asks her.

"This is the location for the second phase of the exam, it's the 44th Battle Training Ground, but we call it, the Forest of Death."

"The Forest of Death?" Naruto repeats stunned, I can definitely see the death part of this forest, and I feel like I can hear dramatic music when she said that.

**It's done! Finally, I was trying to get this done along with sorting out the other profiles of both existing stories and future ones, but I got it done and I will start the next chapter. DEADGIRLETERNAL OUT!**


	8. Special Report: Stage 2!

_Chunin Exam Arc - Episodes 26 -30_

**Rio's POV:**

Well, this is gonna be painful, suddenly Naruto runs past us with a fake cardboard square rock following behind him as he keeps running back and forth past us, he stops facing the visible phoney rock. "That's the worst disguise of all time; there's no such thing as square rocks. It's completely obvious!" Naruto yells as he points down at the cardboard box.

"You fell through my camouflage again, your slick Boss. Just what I'd expect from my greatest rival." Konohamaru's voice comes from under the box which lights up as it explodes, with three coloured smoke bombs, the smoke clears to see the three kids coughing because of the dense smoke. "I think we used a little too much gunpowder, you guys." The kids look stunned for a second before they get to their feet in front of Naruto.

"I'm Moegi, the sassiest Kunoichi in pre-school, check me out!" She introduces herself, striking a pose.

"I love algebra, call me Udon." He adds striking another pose.

"And I'm the number one, Ninja in the village. Konohamaru." He strikes his own pose. "And when we're all together-"

"We're Konohamaru Ninja Squad!" They say together striking a pose, I still think they're adorable.

"Yeah, I knew it was you guys the whole time." Naruto shrugs them off. "What do you losers want? I'm getting ready to take the second phase of the Chunin Exams, and you're interrupting me. I don't have any time to be playing around with guys now."

"We didn't come to play around, Boss, we're on official business." Konohamaru corrects him, looking as energetic as usual.

"Yeah that's right, we came here for an exclusive interview," Moegi explains, Udon nods in agreement.

"An interview, huh?" Naruo repeats.

"We're here on assignment to write an article for the Academy's newspaper. It's a big-time feature story all about Chunin Selection Examinations." Konohamaru explains more.

"That's why we want to do an exclusive interview with you. Please, tell us you're going to do it?" Moegi gives him a puppy-dog look.

"It would mean a lot," Udon adds some more as he bows to Naruto.

"Yeah but right now?" Naruto growls out.

"Hey, you over there, what're you doing, you're holding up the exams." Anko scolds them as she walks over.

"Sorry, but Kononhamaru was telling me something about an interview for the Academy newspaper," Naruto explains, and she seems to change her tune as she becomes bashful.

"Oh yeah, I forgot all about it, Lord Hokage had said something about them interviewing me." She laughs shyly.

"Interviewing you?" Naruto questions, seeming a little down.

"Alright. We're taking a ten-minute break for those of you who are scheduled to be interviewed, please be courteous and respectful to the reports from the Academy newspaper," Anko announces to the other candidates.

"I thought I was the only one being interviewed?" Naruto complains looking a little disappointed.

"No, Boss, but you are the most important." Konohamaru sweet-talks him, which lightens his mood.

"Oh, well, in that case, I'll give ya an interview that'll make it clear to your readers why I'm the greatest Ninja ever." Naruto boasts with a big grin; I walk off, I don't really like interviews. "Where you going, Rio?" He asks, making me stop looking over my shoulder.

"I don't do interviews but thanks, I'm going to see Hinata, see ya!" I answer and run over to the little flower as Kiba talks to her. "Go away, Kiba, you can leave Akamaru, he's better company." I joke, he glares at me angrily, but Akamaru seems okay with it as he yips happily.

"What are you doing over here, Rio?" Hinata asks, and I point over to Naruto as he sits by the tree talking to Konohamaru and the others.

"They're doing an interview over there, and well, I don't like doing interviews," I answer her and Kiba starts getting annoyed.

"What's so special about Naruto!" Kiba goes off and starts complaining, but I just ignore him as I talk to Hinata the whole time about random things.

Finally, they pack up, I head back to the team as the Konohamaru Ninja Squad leave seeming happy with themselves, "So, how'd the interviews go?" I ask them.

"Great, don't worry, we did mention you!" Naruto exclaims, and I nod in thanks.

"Thanks, I guess Naruto." Before I can say more, Sakura shrieks and I can see why a bird lands on a tree branch and a giant snake swallows it whole.

"This whole place just completely creeps me out," Sakura grumbles as she holds onto my jacket sleeve.

"It should, they call it the Forest of Death. And soon enough you're gonna find out why." Anko chuckles.

"They call it the Forest of Death. And soon enough, you're gonna find out why." Naruto mimics her in the silliest way, trying to make light of it. "Do your worst; you're not gonna scare me away! I can handle anything!"

"So, looks like we've got a tough guy." Anko grabs a Kunai and throws it towards Naruto, missing him but close enough to scratch his cheek and lands behind him near those creepy Grass Ninja, and she appears suddenly behind Naruto. "You tough enough to handle this? You're not afraid, are you? Tough guys like you usually leave their blood all over this forest." She tries scaring him, the Grass Ninja appears behind Anko with the Kunai in her tongue, but Anko goes to attack. She stops herself, seeing she's not in any danger.

"I was just returning your knife." The Grass ninja says in a haunting voice.

"Why thank you Grass Ninja." They seem to be having a staring contest for a few seconds as if assessing the situation. "You know, I really only recommend you stand this close behind me… if you wish to reach a premature end," Anko warns her and takes back her Kunai.

"My pardon, with the sight of blood and your blade slicing through my hair… I'm afraid that I just became a little excited. I meant you no harm." The Grass Ninja replies and walks away.

"Likewise," Anko adds, and the Grass Ninja walks pass between Sakura and me, we move out of her way, I feel her touch my arm, and it sends a chill I've never felt before, something dangerous, powerful and deadly!

"Seems like everyone here today is quick-tempered," Anko remarks as she watches the Grass Ninja, like she's one to talk. "There must be something in the air. This is gonna be fun." She walks back to her original spot in front of the wire fencing of the Training Ground. "Now, before we begin this test, I have something to hand out to you all. It's just a standard consent form." She gets out a stack of papers with I guess the guidelines to the consent we have to give to take the test. "Before the test, all of you will have to read over this form, and then sign it."

"What for?" Naruto asks her.

"Some of you may not come back from this test. And I have to get your consent to that risk. Otherwise, it would be my responsibility!" She explains and laughs as if that were funny! My life is at risk, and she wants to laugh about it! "Now, I'll explain what you'll be doing on this test. Here, pass these out." She passes them to Naruto who passes them on. "The first thing you need to know is that this test will tax every one of your survival skills." I take the consent form and pass it to Sakura and read over, this is ridiculous! "First, I'll give you all a description of the terrain on the practice field." She gets out a scroll which shows the training zone in little detail, but I can make out a river that cuts through the grounds and has what looks like a tower in the middle, that must be where we've got to head. "The 44th Battle Training Zone has 44 entrance gates. There are rivers and a forest inside. In the centre is a locked tower, located ten kilometres from each gate. It's in this confined area that you'll undergo that survival test. The test consists of-" She rolls the scroll back up putting it in her coat inner pocket. "-an anything-goes battle to get your hands on these scrolls." She gets out two scrolls one is a cream colour and the other a dark blue like Sasuke's top.

"Both of them?" Sasuke asks her.

"Yes. you'll be fighting to get both, a heaven scroll and an earth scroll." She shows the writing on the cream one is the heaven scroll, and the dark blue is the earth scroll. "Altogether, 26 teams will be taking part in this test. So half of those teams will be going after the heaven scroll. And the other half will be trying to get the earth scroll. I'll hand over one kind of scroll to each team. And that's what you'll be vying for." She explains the mission inside of surviving an all or nothing battle to stay in a place called the Forest of Death and make it 10 kilometres to the centre tower alive, yeah piece of cake!

"Okay, so how do we pass the test?" I ask her not happy at all.

Your entire squad must bring both the heaven and the earth scroll to the tower." She answers, I knew it was something like that.

"That means, at the very best, half of us will fail. More, if not every team is able to get both the scrolls." Sakura points out.

"No one ever said it would be easy. Oh, and one more thing. The test has a time limit. You must finish it within five days." Anko drops another bombshell.

"Five days out there?" Ino shrieks.

"What do we do for food?" Choji questions, when doesn't he think about food?

"Just look around. The forest is full of things to eat. There's plenty to feed all of you." Anko assures him.

"Yeah, but… that's not all the forest has plenty of-" Kabuto voices. "=there are man-eating beasts and poisonous plants in there." He's trying to scare everyone!

"Oh, man!" Choji panics.

"Quiet down. This is why they call it survival, you know." Ino tells him.

"That means, with these circumstances there's no way half the teams will pass the test." Neji comments, stupid, mean cousin of Hinata's, I don't like the way he treats her.

"With the days getting longer, the nights are getting shorter." Lee points out. "So we will have less time to sleep and less time to recover. It is a challenge, indeed!"

"Completely surrounded by enemies. There won't be time to rest; we'll have to keep a constant watch." Sasuke comes to the same conclusion.

"Right. This test also measures endurance behind enemy lines. This is designed to be a gruelling test. And I'm sure some of you won't be up to the challenge." Anko explains in some detail.

"So, let's say mid-exam. Can we quit?" Shikamaru asks, of course, he would.

"Of course, not. In the middle of a battle you can't say, 'sorry, I quit.' well, I guess you could, but it's probably gonna get you killed." Anko tells him the obvious.

"Oh, just great. This is going to be a drag." Shikamaru groans in annoyance about probably the effort of moving again. He's too lazy sometimes.

"There are also some ways you can get disqualified. The first is simple. If all members of a team can't make it to the tower with both scrolls after five days. Number two, if a team loses a member, or if a member becomes incapacitated and cannot continue. But most importantly, none of you, absolutely none of you may look at the contents of the scrolls until you've reached the tower." She explains, and I want to look now, that's not fair.

"What if it just happens to flap open and you read it?" Naruto asks.

"Let me put it to you this way, young man; you don't want to know." She jumps over the question. "There are times when a Ninja will be asked to carry secret documents. The scroll rule is to test your integrity. Okay, we're done. Each team, take your consent forms and exchange them over there for your scrolls." She points over to the booth. "After that, each team picks a gate, and you'll be led inside. Oh, and I have one more word of advice. Just don't die!" Everyone branches off to read through the consent forms, and I stay with Sakura as we walk around. I've already signed the document; it seems pretty straight forward. I notice them pull a curtain to stop the other teams from seeing which scroll the teams have or which team member has said-scroll, we walk along the fence and come across Ino and her two lackeys.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the little future failure and Rio. What's up billboard brow, thought you would have washed out of the programme by now. Your big forehead alone should have gotten you tossed." Ino tries provoking Sakura again; they used to be friends, then Sasuke got in the way.

"So sad! You're jealous that I'm spending five days with Sasuke. And it's clearly turning you into someone very petty and ugly. And you were already ugly!" Sakura returns the compliment.

"Ugly!"

"You are." They exchange like five-year-olds, I walk over to Choji and Shikamaru as we watch them.

"Enough! Give it up, Sakura, you and I both know you're too weak to pass this test." Ino snaps at her.

"Yeah, right! You're the one who's going down." Sakura vows, and they exchange glares before walking off, I jog to catch up with my now grumpy sister as we go back to the boys.

"Alright, everyone. We're going to start handing out scrolls." One of the guys announces and one by one, teams head into the booth to get their scrolls, once it's our turn, Naruto hands over our papers and we get a heaven scroll in exchange, looks like the earth scroll is our goal, I take the scroll and place it in my shirt, no way anyone's getting it in here. I see Naruto and Sasuke blushing before we exit the booth, it's going to look so apparent if they don't stop blushing.

"Listen up! All the teams have received their scrolls, so everybody go to your gate and wait there. When the gates open, the test is on." Anko announces, and we walk off.

"Let's get a good gate; I say we get one close to the river," I comment as we walk, but Naruto runs over and stops in front of number 12. "Or this one."

"Believe it! I dare you to bring it on, Ninja. I'll just send it right back, twice as hard." Naruto punches the air trying to rile himself up.

"Don't waste your energy before we've even started," I warn him and he calms down somewhat, as the guy in front of us unlocks the chain around the door; it drops to the floor hard with a metallic thud.

"Alright, heads up, you maggots!" I hear Anko yell. "The second part of the test has begun." The gate opens, and we walk inside, it's going to get interesting now!

_**Chunin Exam Arc**_

Inside it doesn't feel any different, but I know we can handle whatever this forest throws at us. "Alright, here we go, guys!" Naruto cheers with so much enthusiasm, but it's definitely contagious, we walk further into the forest, and it seems someone is already in trouble as I hear a scream, we stop walking looking over our shoulders.

"That sounded like someone screaming." Sakura points out. "I do not like this place."

"Oh, come on. It's nothing to be scared of; it's going to be a piece of cake." Naruto assures her and walks over to one of the trees. "Excuse me a second I really gotta… you know." Sakura knocks him over the head in disgust.

"Yeah, right! Get outta here. What is this, a kennel?! Not in front of girls, you don't. Find a bush or something." Sakura scolds him, and he walks off, he seems to be taking some time, that's a bad sign.

"Ah, man, that was a lot! I wrote my whole name!" Naruto, no wait that isn't him, where's the cut on his cheek and his Shuriken holster is on the wrong leg.

"You're such a pig! You're really disgusting sometimes, you know that?" Sakura scolds him, seems she doesn't realise it's not Naruto, Sasuke does as he hits the imposter, knocking him into a tree. "Sasuke, it wasn't that bad. Don't you think you're going a bit overboard?"

"Yeah, what the heck was that all about?" The imposter asks, still playing at being Naruto, Sasuke kicks him and tries to hit him again, but the imposter jumps up to one of the tree branches, Sasuke follows him and kicks him to the ground. The imposter hits the ground hard, and Sasuke lands in front of us. "Better watch out, Sakura, Rio, I think he's gone crazy!"

"Yeah, you wish. He just struck before you could!" I comment, and Sasuke gets out his Kunai before going towards the imposter.

"Sasuke, no!" Sakura calls out to him, as the imposter gets to his feet.

"Alright then, bring it on!" He exclaims, and they exchange hits, this is definitely not Naruto, Sasuke usually wins in a fight like this, the imposter jumps away out of the way of one of Sasuke's attacks.

"Sasuke, what are you doing?" Sakura asks him.

"Take a good look at him." Sasuke remarks.

"Talk! What have you done with Naruto?" I demand an answer.

"What? What do you mean? I am Naruto!" The imposter replies.

"Then where's the cut on your cheek?" I ask him; he seems to notice his mistake and Sakura sees it too. "I guess you didn't know the real Naruto got a cut on his face before this test."

"You also have your Shuriken holster on your left leg, not your right. But the real Naruto is right-handed. Your transformation skill is worse than Naruto's. Tell me who you are." Sasuke demands and he admits defeat but undoing the Jutsu and reveals himself to be a guy in a jumpsuit with a gas mask.

"Alright, you got me. So what? I'm still gonna take your scroll. Now hand it over or else." He orders us, and I get out Nagi, and Sakura gets out her Kunai. "So, which one of you has it? Fine, then. I guess I'll just have to take you three out." He runs towards us, Sasuke jumps up and performs his Fire Style, throwing small balls of flames towards the ground, but the enemy Ninja dodges them. He jumps up into the air, meeting Sasuke with their Kunai out, they clash before swapping sides. Sasuke goes after him, I chase after them both and see Naruto tied up on the forest floor, struggling against the ropes.

"Sasuke I got him!" I shout and throw my Shuriken, slicing the rope away, releasing Naruto from his hold.

"Better keep your mind on the game!" The Ninja shouts and throws multiple knives, hitting the tree branch as Sasuke ducks for cover, one of them has a paper bomb.

"Sasuke!" I shout as it goes off. He falls but catches himself, but the Ninja pops up behind him.

"Sorry. This is one test you fail. Now, hand over the scroll, or you die!" He orders him.

"Sasuke!" Sakura calls out to the Uchiha which distracts the Ninja who looks over to her, Naruto jumps up and throws his Kunai towards the Ninja, making him jump up away.

2Oh, no, you don't!" Naruto yells as he lands down and I jump over next to him, Sasuke kicks up a Kunai that the Ninja moves out of the way which gives Sasuke enough time to jump up and meet him with a Kunai in the chest.

"Are you alright?" Sakura calls up to him.

"Don't just stand there, Sakura. Chances are, this guy's not alone." Sasuke shouts down to her.

"We have to watch out; the others could jump out at any moment," I warn her as I walk over to her and the masked guy backs away, bleeding badly.

"I wish I came alone so as not to arouse suspicion. Big mistake." He comments and flees further into the forest, we walk to the clearing and sit needing to plan out the rest of our journey through this deadly forest.

"That proves that we can't just trust appearances. We have to come up with a way of knowing that each of us is who we say we are and not some imposter using a Transformation Jutsu." Sasuke points out; I hum in agreement along with Naruto who also nods.

"Alright. So what do we do?" Sakura asks.

"We need a password," I suggest, and they all look at me.

"What kind of password?" Naruto asks.

"A secret one." Sasuke snips at him. "Something known only to the four of us. And don't trust anyone who doesn't know it, no matter what. Okay, listen closely, because I only want to say this once. The question will be 'When does a Ninja strike?' and the response is, 'A Ninja waist until the time is the enemy sleeps and drops his guard when his weapons lie forgotten in the stillness of the night. That is the moment for a Ninja to strike.' Got it?" He asks us and shows our secret hand sign which is the letter R in sign language, I nod my head smiling.

"Gotcha!"

"I got it." Sakura smiles, but Naruto looks a little lost.

"You got one a little shorter?" He asks, and I sigh shaking my head, this was why he picked one so long.

"No, Naruto. That's it." Sasuke tells him, seeming annoyed.

"Oh, come on. What's wrong? Didn't you get it?" Sakura asks, getting a little angsty. "I memorised it easily."

"Yeah, sure. I got it." He outright lies, "I got it. No problem. I just thought it was going to be a password, not a pass-speech."

"Alright, then. I'll take the scroll." Sasuke says, and we get to our feet.

"Wait a minute, Sasuke, I-" Naruto begins when something flies at him, piercing him in the cheek. "What was that?" He wanders, and we look into the darkness where something eerie seems to be coming towards us, and a large gust of air comes towards us, trying to knock us around.

"What is it now?" Sasuke wonders as there's an enormous gust that causes a massive hit. I try keeping my footing, but the gigantic blast is too fast, and I don't move in time and go flying away.

**Chunin Exam Arc**

I hit a tree stump and hit my head hard, I feel the sharp pain in the back of my head, my vision blurs a little at first as I try to stand up, but my feet give out as I stumble and sit down trying to stop the dizzy spell. My eyes seem to adjust a little as I place my hands on the ground and steady myself as I get up from the ground, on shaky feet and I feel a chill down my spine, something deadly coming from in front of me some distance. I sway as I try walking towards the evil aura that seems to grow stronger the closer I step, and I feel my stomach turn as I get closer and I stop as I feel the hairs on my neck stand on end at the feeling of death hanging in the air.

**Chunin Exam Arc**

I slowly walk closer and hear a struggle up in the trees above, I look up to see Sasuke and Sakura standing above with that creepy Grass Ninja from before but her lower half wrapped around the branch of a tree trying to get to Sasuke. The Uchiha lets out a scream as the creep comes towards him, but a rain of weapons showers down in front of her stopping her in her tracks. I look further up to see Naruto, and everyone else looks the same way. "Looks like I came just in time!" He announces himself, and I take that as my time to make my way up quickly to Sakura.

"Naruto!" She calls out to him happily as he looks all too happy with himself.

"Oh, and by the way, what was that password again?" He asks typical Naruto.

"Forget it, I know it's you. You made it." Sakura yells up to him.

"Naruto, get out of here. What are you thinking? You don't know what you're up against! Hurry! Go now, while you still can!" Sasuke yells at him freaking out, Sasuke seems terrified.

"So, Naruto, you managed to escape from my friend. Well done. And Rio, so lovely for you to join us." The Grass Ninja comments and I sigh as I jump from a lower branch and I land right next to Sakura, startling her and alerting the others to my presence.

"Sorry I'm late." I fakely apologise and look at the Ninja. "So, I don't know what's going on here, but you've been picking on my friends, and I don't like that one bit. So why don't you go slither back into the hole you came from so I don't have to make you, along with my friend up there, who seems not too happy with you." I warn her; I feel Sakura giving me a worried look as if I don't understand what's happening, but I don't need to, I just want this Grass Ninja gone.

"You can have it." Sasuke voices, seeming to have lost his mind. "The scroll, right? That's what you want. Alright then!" He gets out the fake I gave him before, it's still with me, and right now I am delighted I did. "Take it and leave us in peace!"

"But Sasuke, are you crazy or what?!" Naruto shouts down at him, and I feel the same way. "We're gonna just hand the scroll over to the enemy? No way! What's wrong with you?!"

"Shut up and stay out of it!" Sasuke snaps at the blond.

"What?" He growls back, in disbelief.

"Very wise, very sensible. Sometimes, the helpless prey, if they are to save their own skins, realise that their only hope is to distract the predator with something even more precious." The Grass Ninja remarks and Sasuke throws the heaven scroll towards her.

"Take it," Sasuke says, and Naruto jumps down towards them stopping her from taking it, grabbing it from the air and lands on the tree nearer Sakura and I, before jumping down in the middle of Sasuke and the enemy Ninja. "Stop playing the damn hero! Just stay out of this and leave it to me!" Naruto turns around on the spot and punches Sasuke in the jaw, knocking him down almost off of the branch, but he catches himself landing on the other branch opposite them. "Stupid fool! You don't know what you're doing!"

"I may not know the password, but I know who I am. You're the one I'm not so sure about. How do we know you're who you say you are?" Naruto points out, with Sasuke giving up so quickly, what happened while we were gone to shake him so much.

"What do you mean? It's him! Don't be so stupid!" Sakura defends him so easily.

"What sort of nonsense is this? It's me, you loser!" Definitely a Sasuke line there.

"Liar! Liar! You may look just like him, you may sound just like him, but there's no way you're the Sasuke I know! I don't care how tough a fight you've been through. Surrendering, giving up the scroll, when did Sasuke become a coward? You keep saying I don't understand what's going on, but I do! You've choked, that's what it is!" Naruto hits the nail on the head, and I shake my head slightly, placing my hand on Sakura's shoulder.

"Sad, but true." She adds in her bit as she stands on her feet and like a complete freak, uses her snake-like tongue to lick her lips with a crazed look on her face, I grip Sakura's shoulder as I feel her jump. "It doesn't matter." She pulls up her sleeve and reveals what seems like a summoning tattoo. "As far as the scroll goes, I could simply kill you and take it." She bites the tip of her thumb drawing blood, she smears the blood across the Jutsu, and Naruto gets out a Kunai before running towards her.

"Let's see you try it!" He yells as he runs at her.

"Don't! Naruto, no!" Sasuke calls out to him as Naruto ignores him jumping towards the Grass Ninja.

"**Summoning Jutsu."** She calmly says performing the hand signs in quick concession and a barrier of wind forms around her, stopping Naruto from getting too close, and a giant snake appears snapping the branch under her feet as she stands on the head.

"Naruto!" I call out to him in worry, as it whips down trying to hit him but he dodges out of the way and crashes into one of the trees, crushing it under the sheer size of the overgrown reptile.

"What a tasty little meal you'll make for him. Careful, he likes to play with his food." She taunts him, and the snake whips his tail towards Naruto looking as if it's going from above but seems to miss but swings up, breaking the branch in half.

"Naruto!" We all cry out as he flies up, breaking more branches along the way and hits one, causing him to spit out blood. I whimper in fear for our friend and teammate as I watch him fall seeming unconscious from the hit.

"Enough playing. Finish him off!" She orders the snake as Naruto falls closer and something in the air changes, as he gets closer he swings down.

"Yeah, eat this!" Naruto growls and viciously kicks the snake in the face, it seems robust, more powerful than before and he hangs in the air before the Grass Ninja.

"But how? It's impossible." She says to herself, and Naruto starts ferociously punching the reptile, breaking more branches with his attacks, but something is off about Naruto and what is impossible, what does she mean?

"Look at him. He's going nuts. Woah! Where did he get that kind of power all of a sudden?" Sakura wonders as we watch Naruto gets flicked away from the forked tongue, but he lands on the opposite facing tree and jumps towards them. She uses a Fire Jutsu and blows it towards Naruto engulfing him; he falls, breaking even more branches falling further down, I gasp in worry for our friend.

"That fire in his eyes. There's no mistaking it." She mutters to herself, I want to know what's happening to him and what she knows.

"Woah. Is that… Naruto?" Sasuke worries about the sudden change in our friend.

"Now then, let's see how well you do, Sasuke." She turns her attention, and the reptiles head towards the raven-haired boy, who seems to be terrified.

"Sasuke!" Sakura shouts out to him.

"Sasuke move it!" I shout at him, and suddenly Naruto appears in front of Sasuke and uses his Kunai to stab the snake and digs his feet in, keeping it from bulldozing Sasuke.

"Hey kid, you're not hurt, are you?" Naruto asks him, huffing to catch his breath, and looks up at the Uchiha. "You scaredy-cat," He repeats something Sasuke said ages ago, but something about Naruto is different. "Standing there, frozen like a frightened rabbit! No way! You're not the Sasuke I know." The Enemy Ninja gets out her creepily long tongue and wraps it around Naruto's arms and hauls him up into the air.

"Hey, get away from him!" I cry out and try to move towards them, trying to find the courage, but Sakura holds onto my pant leg, gripping it in fright.

"Hey! Oh, man, disgusting! Put me down before I yank this tongue out of your head!" Naruto struggles as she brings him closer, she starts performing a Jutsu, I've never seen before.

"I see, when your anger is roused, some of the nine-tailed fox's Chakra is released." She muses and faces her palm out towards Naruto, and the tips of her fingers flare-up in purple flames. "What an interesting childhood you must have had." She uses the end of her tongue to lift his orange jacket, and some sort of seal is on his stomach, this is high levelled Jutsu. "The spell that seals him within you has appeared on your skin. **Five-pronged seal!"** She thrusts her hand into Naruto's stomach; he lets out a grunt of pain as steam comes from the contact, and she moves away then more details appear on his stomach.

"Sasuke! Hurry!" Sakura shouts out to the usually confident Uchiha, but he's just standing there still as a statue. "Do something!" I grit my teeth as Naruto grows slack in the Grass Ninja's hold and she gladly takes the fake scroll from his pouch and throws him away like trash. I grab my Naginata and spin it around as it forms and throw it towards Naruto catching his jacket as he falls, pinning him into the tree behind him.

"Sasuke, what's the matter with you? Why are you just standing there, like a fool, least Naruto tried to stand up to this reptile, but you're just standing there like an idiot, that's not the Sasuke we know, the Sasuke, Naruto looks up to, the Sasuke that Sakura loves or the Sasuke who's my best friend! Get yourself together!" I snap at him, and I don't know if it got through to him as the Grass Ninja jumps from the snake's head and lands in front of Sakura and I. I push Sakura behind me, to shield her from this reptile's forked tongue. "I'm not afraid of you, I won't let you hurt anymore of my friends." I try putting on a brave face, feeling the deadly aura around her, I gulp looking into her eyes holding nothing but my death, I swiftly reaching into my weapons pouch taking out a Kunai knife and lung towards her but she dodges out of the way, I kick into the air almost hitting her, I push her back with each swing away from Sakura. "Hitsuji, Inu, Ne, Mi, Tora. **Earth Style: Fist Rock Jutsu!"** I place my hand on my dirty pants and feel the dirt forming around my right arm. I've only ever done this a couple of times, and I almost broke my arm the last time, let's hope I can beat her before that happens. I run at her and swing my arm at her, she jumps back onto another tree branch, and I jump after her, punching down at the bark, smashing it into pieces.

"You are full of surprises," She smirks, and I land on the side of the tree, using Chakra in my feet to keep me there as she stands on a higher branch.

"That's not the only thing I'm going to show you!" I lunge at her and use the dirt thrusting my arm towards her, "**Earth Style: Earth Flow Spear!"** The soil springs forward, and she tries moving out of the way, but I move my arm, catching her in the shoulder, it pierces her skin, making her yelp a little. "Sorry, did I make you bleed?" I ask, and she growls in anger, snapping the spear and running towards me.

"You're too much of a nuisance and getting in my way!" She snaps and jumps at me, tackling us off of the branch, she reaches for something in her pocket, I struggle to free myself from her hold as I hear Sakura cry out my name. I release my arm and grab hold of a thin branch that holds us both. "I think we'll see if this kills you or not, I've never been successful with this experiment." She grins and pulls out a syringe and plunges the needle into my chest right where my heart is, I feel the sheer stabbing pain as I watch the formula empty out, leaving it empty. She drops down below, I feel myself getting drowsy at first and then an intense feeling of nausea before I let out an ear-piercing scream from the extreme pain flowing through my veins thanks to the stab in the heart. I let go of the branch and land flat on the tree limb below, I scream in pain as more fire runs through my body and I try lying on my side and hold onto the offending area as I look up at her smug face.

"What have you done to me," I grunt out through the pain.

"Something I was working on a long time ago, the others all died, unfortunately, but you seem to be doing much better than them." She comments but doesn't answer my question, my vision begins to blur, and my eyes drop down feeling darkness take me.

**3rd POV:**

Sakura and Sasuke watch below as Rio lies on the branch way below them, lying still but groaning in pain as whatever was in that formula surges through her body changing her from within. Sakura drops to her knees as she looks at the form of her big sister, her protector, her other half and she lets the tears flow down her cheeks, and she looks over at Sasuke as he shouts, she sees that he's using his Sharingan. "That's more like it." She smiles, wiping away the fallen tears as the Grass Ninja imposter releases the Jutsu creating a large cloud of smoke as the giant snake disappears, Sakura covers her face from the harsh gust, but Sasuke isn't fazed as he stands watching and waiting. She stands on the branch opposite him, Sasuke readies himself for the fight, he knows he has to face if the Uchiha wants to take revenge against his brother and he has to do it for Rio and Naruto.

"I knew it. It's finally happened. His Uchiha blood has come to a boil." She muses and leans forward getting ready herself. "I'll play with him a little and learn the full extent of his powers." Sasuke gets out his Kunai from his weapon pouch and places it into his mouth before running and jumping into the air, the imposter thrusts her hand down creating a gust of wind as Sasuke throws his Kunai towards her, she dodges them easily. Sasuke lands towards her, kicking her as she raises her arms to block him, he jumps over her as she spins to kick him but misses and he lands behind her but backflips further away from her. He lands as she runs towards him and he meets her, they exchange hits both blocking well, Sasuke seems to be keeping up with her thanks to his Sharingan, she jumps up above him and lands behind him, he spins around, but she's too fast as she speeds around him, becoming a blur. His Sharingan seems to be able to pick up her quick moves as she comes crashing towards him, he dodges out of the way and steps back, blowing hot flames at her trying to her assaults, he adds more, taking a giant breath, before exhaling an enormous torrent of fire. The hot hurricane of fire seems to have done nothing to stop her as she comes burrowing towards him, as she gains on him, almost right in front of him, he jumps away before she can grab him.

Sasuke takes a calming breath as he places his arm in front of him, the enemy Ninja looks at him, seeming impressed at his abilities, she stands on her feet quickly then whips her arms down in front of her, creating a massive burst of air that cracks the tree behind Sasuke who dodges out of the way in time. The tree cracks hard, falling down as Sasuke jumps up away, he jumps to a higher branch before pushing off towards her, she seems off guard as he grabs around her chest and waist, pulling her down to a lower limb. She looks stunning as they both fall. She falls headfirst into the bark of the branch, Sasuke jumps away as it seems he has stopped her, but it becomes apparent that it's a fake. Her head tosses around before her mouth hangs open then changes to mud, Sasuke stiffens seeing that she's outsmarted him. "Substitution!" He yells and is attacked in a barrage of Kunai, he flips away and off of the branch, he grabs for the thin wires in his arm covers, using them to catch a smaller stick and swinging away. Sasuke rides away to another bough, but she's there and runs towards him, punching him in the face, he doesn't have time to collect himself from her other attacks as she hits and knees him in the beginning, he falls back on his side, Sakura calls out to him in worry as she moves towards her sister but keeps an eye out for the two that are fighting.

"What a disappointment you turned out to be. Your ancestors weep the Uchiha clan should thank me for killing you. Silly little worm." She jabs at him, but his earlier small bombs ignite and push her forward, she catches herself before she falls, and Sasuke uses the distraction to jump away, he throws a multitude of Kunai with wires attached behind her as she stands. Sasuke lands away from her and pulls at the strings he holds, making them taunt, they cover around her pulling her into the tree behind her, pinning her still, Sasuke doesn't give her time as he performs another Jutsu. "**Fire Style Dragon Flame Jutsu!"** A flame engulfs around him growing more ferocious and striking towards the pinned Ninja the powerful Jutsu goes right through the tree, the Ninja lets out a scream as the flames burn around her. Sasuke releases the Jutsu and tries catching his breath, and Sakura jumps down onto the branch with him.

"Sasuke! You did it! Are you okay?" She asks him seeing how worn down he appears after that fight. "Don't worry, it's all over." She couldn't be more wrong as the Grass Ninja pulls on the wires and walks a few steps before releasing her killing intent, causing them to feel the strain again.

"No! Impossible!" Sasuke grunts out, fighting to stay standing as Sakura kneels next to him again.

"Such mastery of the Sharingan at so young an age." She speaks but another tone of voice, more masculine with a hidden hiss in the undertone. "You're a true Uchiha, after all," The voice sticks as he wipes across his head protector revealing the symbol for the Village Hidden in the Sound. "Yes, you'll do nicely." Sasuke lets out a shout as he fights with his body to stay standing. "You are definitely his brother. If anything, your eyes are even keener than Itachi's." The imposter comments which gains the revenge hungry boy attention.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Sasuke roars as he watches the Sound Ninja take out their heaven scroll, flipping it around in his hand casually.

"My name is Orochimaru. But as to what I want, that will have to wait until we meet again, which won't happen until you finish this test with the best score of all." He tells the boy and ignites the scroll in green flames.

"The scroll!" Sakura cries out, watching it burn.

"First, you'll have to defeat the Hidden Sound Ninja who serve me." He informs the Uchiha.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but if you've finished, beat it!" Sakura snaps at the Snake Ninja. "If we never meet again, it'll be too soon."

"Oh, he and I will meet again." Orochimaru corrects her, and he does the Tora hand sign at first but then moves his middle fingers behind his index fingers, his head suddenly shoots up from his body, his neck growing longer as he goes towards Sasuke, who doesn't have the time to recover from the fight or shock, allowing Orochimaru to come towards him and sink his fangs deep into his neck, as the reptile infuses his Curse Mark.

"Sasuke, no!" Sakura calls out to him, in fear of what the enemy Ninja will do to him, Sasuke flinches from the pain then Orochimaru pulls away, leaving two small holes in Sasuke neck that drip out a small drop of blood as his head returns to his body. The Sannin seems pleased with himself as he looks at the Uchiha and next to the two holes, three tomoe appear. The appearance of the Curse Mark causes the raven-haired boy to groan and spasm in pain as he holds the offending area. "Sasuke! You! What have you done to Sasuke?!" Sakura snaps at the snake in worry for the boy.

"I just gave him a little parting gift. Very soon, Sasuke will seek me out and desire my power." He replies, acting indifferently as he watches Sasuke cower from the intense pain in his neck, Sasuke can't help but think of Rio, and this was what she also felt after whatever Orochimaru did to her. "In the meantime, I enjoyed the demonstration of the powers you already possess. And I look forward to finding out if little Rio survives my newest experiment if she does she may be a completely different Ninja." He comments as he sinks into the tree branch out of sight, leaving the four Genin, two of them unconscious.

"Sasuke!" Sakura cries out as she watches him fall to his knees from the intense pain running through his body, she comes to his aid, trying to help. "What is it? What's he done to you? Are you…?" She sees the blood and Curse Mark but isn't sure what it means as she tries to get him to his feet. "It's okay." She tries soothing him, but moving seems to make it worse as he cries out in pain. "You are. You're going to be okay." But it seems the infliction is too much and he faints in her hold.

"Sasuke? Sasuke." She whispers as she looks down at the Uchiha but nothing. "Naruto! Rio! Sasuke's hurt! I need you!" She calls out to the two people she can always rely on, but they don't move, Naruto still unconscious from the poor sealing from Orochimaru hanging on the tree near them and Rio is close to death thanks to whatever was inside that syringe, and the fall on the branch below them. "Naruto! Onee-sama!" She calls out to them but nothing from them, she gets spooked when a crow flies up towards the sky, she watches the sky trying an orange hue as she holds onto her crush, tears in her eyes. "I don't… I don't know what I'm supposed to do. Rio, what do I do." She whispers as the sun sets, and it becomes night.

**Chunin Exam Arc**

After Orochimaru defeats his former student, Anko, she can't help but remember everything he said, about the Uchiha and the girl, the Uchiha has the Curse Mark, and the girl may die from one of his former experiments that he did years ago, one where the Sannin killed all of them, that he knew of, only one survived, but he doesn't know that.

**Chunin Exam Arc**

Sakura moves the boys and Rio down into the hollow base of one of the trees at the ground of the forest, trying to keep the three of them safe, she goes into Rio's medical bag to find something to help them, but only Rio knows what they need with the raw materials. Sakura looks at her sister who struggles for breath, lying between Naruto and Sasuke who are doing much better on their own. Sasuke lets out a groan of pain again in his sleep, Sakura hears his pain and places her hand on his forehead, feeling him burning. She rummages through her sister's medical bag remembering she kept some already made teas after what happened in the Land of Waves. She finds one labelled Fever, she takes the top off and gently pours the liquid into Sasuke's mouth, he seems to drink the sweet tea, and rechecks his forehead feeling his temperature dim somewhat. "His fever's gone down, and he's finally breathing easier now." She looks over at the unconscious trio and looks in her sister's bag again for some pain relievers for her sister and Sasuke as they keep groaning and grunting as their bodies change from within. Sakura looks through her sister's bag again and finds rosemary essential oil and remembers when her father hurt his back she gave him this to help relieve the pain. She takes the drops placing them inside the olive oil perfume bottle and sprays it over the two letting the vapours do their work. It seems to help them a little and squeezes again, and puts the perfume bottle back in the bag, she smiles as she sees the notebook with all of the herbs and flowers even Jutsu that Rio knows or wants to practice. Sakura grabs it, opening it to the back and sees the picture of her and Rio dressed up for their birthday when they were five, in matching pink lolita outfits with pink cat ears going with Rio's fascination at the time and now. She feels the tears slip out of her eyes as she looks at the photo of her big sister and then looks over at her sleeping sister and closes the notebook putting it back in the bag and tries to stop the tears and stay awake.

The three Sound Ninja watch as Sakura naps with her three unconscious teammates. "Found you." Dosu chuckles creepily. "Alright. Just as Orochimaru ordered, we strike at daybreak. And remember, our target is the Uchiha."

"Yeah, but if the other three get in our way, it's okay if we take them out, right? I mean Orochimaru said the older girl was already on her way out?" Zaku asks the mummy boy.

"Of course." He replies, and soon the sun begins to break through the tree, waking Sakura, she opens her eyes to see rays of the morning sun shining through the breaks in the tree and looks at the three still lying on the ground, fighting the changes happening within them.

**I may have not slept so sorry if there are some mistakes but please let me know what you think of this chapter, I'm gonna go to sleep for a while but will get to starting the next chapter straight after! Hope you like please show me your loves and likes! DEADGIRLETERNAL OUT!**


	9. Battle Formation: Undying Love Blossoms!

**Battle Formation: Undying Love Blossoms! **

_Chunin Exam Arc - Episode 31 - 33_

**3rd POV:**

The night seems longer as Sakura, looks after her three unconscious teammates. She uses the towels that were in her sister's bag and uses her water from her canister, she gets one of the ones hanging up to dry and folds it up before wetting it and straining it and swaps the old one. She hangs the old towel on the branch above her head and keeps an eye on others, trying to fight the drowsiness from the lack of rest for hours, but her eyes slip close, but she abruptly opens them again shaking her head trying to fight the sleep. "_Oh, I can't fall asleep. I have to protect these three."_ But she drifts off again into sleep, unaware of the three Sound Ninja in the bushes only meters away from her hiding, waiting.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

Unaware that she's fallen asleep, Sakura dreams of Naruto suddenly sitting up seemingly okay as if nothing happened the day before, giving out a loud yawn, waking her. "Oh wow, I slept really great!" He stretches

"Naruto!" She calls out to him in relief and then Sasuke gives out a groan, sitting up, making the cold press fall, he catches it. "Sasuke!"

"Did you take care of us this whole time?" Sasuke asks her and Rio gets up with a grin.

"Of course, she's my little sister after all." She comments, and Sakura attacks her in a hug.

"Thanks, Sakura! We're all better because of you!" Naruto says as she pulls away from her sister smiling at her teammates.

"I'm glad you're okay!" She fights the tears again, this time in relief at their recovery and that they're safe.], but it all comes to a stop as she hears a rustle of leaves, alerting her to someone, she looks over to see Orochimaru more frightening than before standing outside the clearing behind the bushes.

"Now you'll see what it's like to be prey, panicking and frantically running away from the predator. And that predator is me." He hisses and laughs as his neck extends again coming towards them, he sheds his skin, turning into a snake, his fork tongue hissing as he gets closer. Sakura panics turning to the three as they talk but make no sound, she tries warning them, but again no sound comes out, she holds her throat in fear as she watches them speak to each other.

"_My voice is gone! All our voices are gone!"_ She yells in panic and watches as the snake strikes about to eat her three teammates but blacks out feeling the jolt of fear running through her.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

Sakura suddenly wakes up back in reality with her three teammates the same as she last saw them, she turns around to check on them and sees it was all just a dream, or more rightly a nightmare. Sakura looks up to see that it's grown lighter through the darkness of the trees, meaning it's daybreak. A rustle from behind her comes like from her nightmare, she stiffens in fear afraid to turn around, she plucks up some courage and gets out a Kunai from her side weapon pouch and shakily holds it with two hands. She turns around slowly, afraid of seeing Orochimaru again, but it's just an innocent-looking squirrel munching on a nut, she feels a little foolish now that she knows but sees it run towards her. "Oh man, don't surprise me like that, little guy!" She sighs to herself in relief at the sudden startle and sees it's about to set off her trap and throws her Kunai, stopping it from getting closer, and it scurries away. She doesn't know how lucky she was, as the Sound Ninja watch them from a safe distance not to be seen by the pinkette and watch the unknowing squirrel run away with a paper bomb on it's back.

"I thought for sure that would work. Do you think she saw the paper bomb we put on the squirrel?" Zaku asks his teammates as they watch their prey.

"No, that wasn't it." Dosu answers as he watches, he knows something else made her throw the Kunai to stop the squirrel.

"Then, what was it? What are you thinking?" The Sound Ninja asks him, looking at the bandaged guy.

"I'm thinking we need to go closer and find out. So let's get going." Dosu answers, making the decision, as he takes a peek out from behind the bush and laughs like a creep.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

Another hour passes as Sakura tries staying awake but can't seem to keep her eyes open unaware of the danger lurking and getting closer. "Some lookout. You're half asleep." Dosu comments, alerting her to his presence, she wakes and looks over into the clearing to see the three Sound Ninja standing within the perimeter of the clearing. "At least you don't have to keep watch anymore. What's the point after we've already found you? Now wake Sasuke up. We want to fight him." Dosu orders her, and she shakily reaches for her weapons pouch and stands up trying to get answers knowing Orochimaru sent them.

"What do you want here? I mean, what do you really want?" She demands, trying to keep her voice from shaking, showing her fear. "I know Orochimaru was calling the shots from the shadows." That bit of information surprises them a little, but they try not to show it. "What's that strange bruise on the back on Sasuke's neck? You're behind this, too, aren't you? And now you want to fight him when he can't defend himself?" Learning that Orochimaru has given Sasuke the curse mark surprises them even further, unsure why he would do such a thing.

"I can't stay quiet after hearing you talk to us like that. First I'm gonna kill this girl. And then I'm gonna kill Sasuke." Zaku announces and stands on the boulder trying to intimidate Sakura.

"Wait, Zaku." Dosu orders him, showing he's in charge.

"What? Why?" He asks, and Dosu walks a few steps closer and kneels down, pushing his long sleeve up and touching the trap Sakura had set.

"It's so obvious. This is the colour of dirt that's recently been dug up. And this kind of grass doesn't grow in a place like this." Dosu explains, and Sakura presents to be annoyed, but it seems to work. "You know, if you're going to lay a trap, there's no point unless you make sure it's actually hidden." He pulls up the grass, showing the small obvious trap.

"Ha! You're just a joke. You threw your Kunai knife, so that squirrel wouldn't spring the trap you've set, huh?" Zaku questions seem cocky.

"Now, we kill her." Dosu orders and they jump, clear of the ground in case of any more traps in the dirt, but Sakura predicts this and takes out her Kunai, calmly and slices the wire, showing them her other surprise when a large log comes swinging down towards the three Sound Ninja.

"A log?!" Zaku yelps.

"She also laid a trap above? Watch out!" Dosu warns the others and places his hand out in front of him as the log comes towards him and he smashes it into pieces using a Sound Jutsu. "Nice try, little girl." Sakura watches as they come closer, having stopped her traps. "Clearly, you have no talent as a Ninja. Someone like you needs to make more of an effort, don't you think?" He teases her, and she feels terrible, feeling as if maybe it's true, perhaps she's not cut out to be a Ninja when her green knight saves her.

"**Leaf Hurricane!" **Rock Lee shouts as he kicks the three Sound Ninja away from hurting his Sakura, they dig into the dirt to stop themselves from being pushed further out as Lee lands in front of Sakura who tries shielding herself from the new potential threat.

"Wha-what's he doing?" Sakura stutters out seeing that it's Lee, that's come to her rescue with the squirrel from before on his shoulder.

"Looks like you also need to make more of an effort." Lee counters back at Dosu.

"Who are you?" He asks the strange Leaf Genin.

"I am the handsome devil of the Leaf Village… and my name is Rock Lee." He introduces himself with a deadly look in his eyes towards the Sound Ninja that tried to attack Sakura.

"Wha-what are you doing here, Lee?" She asks him slightly harshly from the shock.

"I will always appear anytime and anywhere that you are in trouble, Sakura." He tells her as he comforts the poor squirrel, letting it down on the ground. "This was really all thanks to you, little one. But now it is time for you to run along."

"But right now on this test, I'm your enemy." Sakura reasons worried he may turn on her.

"Sakura, I already told you." He reminds her, but she seems to have forgotten. "I will protect you until I die." She remembers when they first met how he declared his love for her and to protect her with his life.

"Yes, thank you," Sakura says, remembering, but Lee takes it the completely wrong way, celebrating.

"It looks like I have no choice." Dosu comments and takes out their earth scroll and gives it to Zaku. "Zaku, I'll let you have Sasuke. I'll take care of these two. The guy with the bushy eyebrows is pretty good at Taijutsu. Looks like I get to have some fun." Dosu runs towards them after rolling his sleeve up, revealing his amplifier, Sakura throws her Kunai at him, but he dodges, jumping out of the way towards them. Lee crouches down and digs his hand into the ground and reaches for a tree root, lifting above ground to shield from Dosu's attack.

"I am positive that there is some kind of trick to your attack. Therefore, I will not waste my time trying to dodge it. After all, I have seen your Jutsu before." Lee remarks and looks around, trying to figure his game plan out.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

A mile or two away from Sakura and Lee who fight against the Sound Ninja, Choji sits on a high branch munching on some snacks when he notices something in the distance and alerts Ino and Shikamaru below, as they argue about Sasuke's team. "Hey! Sasuke has collapsed!" They look up stunned. "And Sakura is fighting!"

"What did you say?" Ino asks as she and Shikamaru jump up to join their teammate, seeing that he's right.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

Back with Lee and Sakura, he unwraps his bandages around his arms, getting ready for his next attack, thinking about his teammates and Sensei. Dosu runs towards them, and Lee gets into a stance ready for his next move. "To protect the life of someone precious," Lee remembers the words of his Sensei, and crouches down, before disappearing as Dosu gets close enough.

"He disappeared?" Dosu is confused, but Lee appears below him, kicking the Sound Ninja into the air and pushes off with his hand into the air with the enemy Ninja, meeting him in the air.

"Not yet," Lee yells and uses his bandages to tie Dosu up, making him unable to get away as he wraps his arms around his middle and they go plunging towards the ground.

"Oh no, Dosu. there's no way he can break his fall!" Zaku freaks as he watches his leader getting closer to the hard dirt and performs a Jutsu.

"Take this!" Lee yells as they get closer, beginning to spin in the air, making Dosu grow disorientated. "**Primary Lotus!"** At the moment before impact, Zaku thrusts his hands into the soil using his hollow air tubes, blowing air into the ground. It flows out towards the impact area just in time as Lee jumps away and Dosu, unfortunately, lands in soft earth thanks to Zaku. Lee looks back, not sure if Dosu is really taken care of, as the cloud of dirt in the air makes it hard to see.

"Ha! Got you just in time." Zaku smirks as he looks at Dosu as his lower body sticks out of the mound of earth that protected his fall. "That impact could have been much worse for you." Lee lands on the ground away from them, crouching seeing his move did not incapacitate the leader of the enemy Ninja as he gets out of the mound seemingly unharmed.

"What? This cannot be!" Lee protests, but it's clear that it did and Dosu collects himself.

"Now it's my turn." Dosu comments and rolls his long-sleeve again showing his amplifier, and runs at Lee who has not recovered from the Jutsu just yet. Dosu takes advantage of this, swinging his right arm towards the green Ninja allowing his amplifier to do its work as the sound undetected gets into Lee's ears, making him dizzy, unable to focus. His vision blurring from disorientation.

"Lee, no!" Sakura whispers as she watches, seeing Lee in a struggle to stand on his feet from Dosu's attack.

"Your Jutsu is indeed fast. But ours is even faster because it travels at the speed of sound." Dosu explains, and the dizziness and blurring get to Lee as he falls to a crouch trying to steady himself. "Effort itself does nothing. Now watch! We're going to show you something called 'The Wall'." Lee pukes from the disorientation and blurring to his visions thanks to Dosu's Sound Jutsu.

"Lee, what's wrong?" Sakura cries out to him in worry seeing her saviour in distress, and a trickle of blood pours out of his left ear, he covers it feeling the pain from the attack.

"My… my ear." He grunts in pain.

"Oh, I forgot to mention this little gadget I wear." Dosu shows off his amplifier, seeming overly proud of it. "You might be able to dodge my blows, but you can't get away from it." He gives out a menacing chuckle. "I don't need to strike you with my fists. I can hit you with the power of sound."

"Sound?" Lee repeats through the pain, unsure what he means.

"Your little pink-haired teammate figured it out when we first met, not you the other one. What makes it possible for the ear to hear things? What is sound, really?"

"Vibrations." Sakura answers.

"Give the little lady a prize, lucky the brains seem to be shared in your group. Yes, the vibration of molecules in the air creates a sound wave." Dosu explains and touches his ear to show them as he talks. "These vibrations are collected by the ear, then directed to your eardrum. The human eardrum, the tympanic membrane, ruptures when exposed to sound levels in excess of 150 decibels. Moreover, if the sound is powerful enough to upset the fluid within the deepest inner ear canals, it becomes impossible for you to maintain your balance." Lee realises why he was dizzy, and his vision blurred because of Dosu's Sound Jutsu. "Feeling a little dizzy, nauseous? That's right. Best if you don't even try to stand up for a while."

You see, buddy, that old-fashioned Taijutsu stuff won't work against us." Zaku arrogantly remarks. "Not that you're not good at it, it's just that what's the point? Compared to our Jutsu, that stuffs totally yesterday's news." He takes his hands out of the ground and places his hands in front of his face. "See, I can manipulate ultrasonic waves and air pressure. I can do things you've never even dreamed of. I can obliterate boulders or make the ground itself as soft as a feather cushion. Face it, little man, you're up against the Jutsu of the future." He shows off his hollow air tubes, letting out pressures of air with a smug smirk and snigger at their faces.

"Now, then, little girl, it's your turn." Dosu announces and runs at Sakura past Lee who can't seem to move.

"No!" Lee cries out as Dosu goes for Sakura, who gets out her Kunai to protect herself, the Leaf Ninja gets to his feet and runs to try and save her. "No!"

"What?" Dosu seems a little impressed with the will power as he runs to stop him.

"Lee!" Sakura gasps seeing him.

"**Leaf Hurricane!"** He shouts as he runs, and lands on his hand on the ground and tries to kick Dosu away but the pain in his ear stops him, allowing Dosu to push his leg down.

"Not quite as effective as it was before, is it?" Dosu asks him and lands on the ground before attacking Lee again. "Still, it's impressive that you can move at all. We'll have to do something about that." Lee tries dodging his punch, but Dosu hits the side of Lee's head and activates his amplifier, resonating the sound vibrations. "Do you hear that? This device amplifies the vibrations of the impact, transforming them into a wave of sound."

"Lee, no!" Sakura whispers as she watches the attack.

"A soundwave I can channel with my Chakra, focusing all its energy on any target I desire." He directs it straight into Lee's ear, causing immense pain to the Genin.

"Stop it!" Sakura pleads, feeling useless to stop their attack on someone who was trying to help her and watches as Lee falls to the ground unmoving.

"Alright, little man. Time to end it." Dosu sneers as he looks down at the green-clad Ninja, but Sakura uses that to pluck up some courage and stands up.

"That's what you think." She snaps at the mummy guy, taking out some Kunai and throws them at her but he deflects them with his amplifier.

"Ah… I'd almost forgotten you." Dosu grins under his bandages as he looks at her, all of them unaware of the three watching their fight unfold.

"These guys are scary. I vote for getting out of here." Choji freaks as they watch.

"Sasuke, Rio and Naruto are out of it, and Lee's not looking too good, either. It's just Sakura all alone against the three of those guys. Well, what do you want to do? Ino?" Shikamaru asks their leader who seems in a world of her own as she watches her love rival fight against three powerful opponents.

"Why ask me, huh?" Ino asks, still watching.

"Well, if we don't do something soon, she's toast. Are you cool with that? You and her, you were friends once, right? Rio is your friend, my friend, are you okay with letting her sister get hurt? Cause I'm not, but it's up to you." Shikamaru asks her, and he sees her thinking about it. "Well? Ino!" Getting her out of her memories. "What do you want to do?"

"Why do you keep asking me that? What am I supposed to do? Do you want me to get myself killed?" Ino snaps at him in a hushed tone shocking him as her knees shake in fear as she watches Sakura throwing Shuriken at the enemy Ninja.

"Take these!" Sakura shouts as she throws the Shuriken at Dosu, but Zaku steps in using his hollow air tubes to repel the Shuriken back at the pinkette, as she's distracted Kin comes up behind her, taking her by the hair. Sakura's knees buckle, and she falls, but Kin keeps a hold of her hair, stopping her struggle.

"My, my! What soft and shiny hair." Kin comments sarcastically as she looks down at Sakura darkly as she holds onto her hair with an iron grip. "But you know what? If you spent a little less time shampooing and a little more time practising your Jutsu, you might not be in this fix." She shakes Sakura around who tries to keep herself still but fails. "Hey, Zaku, I know what would be fun. Let's make Miss Beauty Queen watch while you finish off that Sasuke guy."

"Why not? Sounds like fun to me." Zaku agrees, and Sakura grits her teeth in anger and tries to go for Zaku, but Kin tightens her grip on Sakura's hair pulling her back.

"Don't even!" Kin warns her as she tightens her grip, Sakura lets out a grunt of pain feeling her scalp on fire from the hold. Lee turns his head slightly to look over at Sakura and sees her fighting the tears back, but they unleash like a flood gate as she thinks about how weak she feels compared to the others and can't protect them in the time they need it the most. "_Way to ho, Sakura. You let everybody down again. What good are you? Even now, when the others really need me, I cave. How many times have they saved my neck? You'd think that maybe, just this once when it's life or death, you'd think that just maybe I could come through."_ She cries more and grips into the dirt in anger at herself and Zaku walks towards them going for Sasuke.

"Okay, let's do this." He announces as he walks with a grin, unaware that the Curse Mark on Sasuke's neck seems to be oozing out dangerously dark Chakra, thanks to Orochimaru.

"Man, this thing's about to get really ugly." Shikamaru comments and watches as Zaku walks on and looks on as Sakura gets out another Kunai and readies.

"Come on." Kin scoffs, watching her as she points the Kunai towards her. "It's pointless. That won't work on me."

"It's not meant for you." Sakura remarks with a grin.

"What th-?!" Kin gasps as she watches the pinkette cut her once long hair, Kin falls back from the force of her grip being taken, everyone watches on in shock at the action some knowing how much she cared about her hair, even Rio reacts as she gasps in pain and hand twitches as if trying to stop her sister.

"_I've always considered myself to be a true Ninja. I claim that I'm madly in love with Sasuke. And I'm always lecturing Naruto, acting like I know so much more. And I always play as if I'm equal to Rio. But it's all empty words because they're always in the lead and I watch them from the background. Why is that?"_ Sakura wonders to herself as she remembers all the times they've protected her and showed they were further ahead than she is. "_No matter what, they were always there, those three, protecting me. And Lee, you did more than just say you like me, you proved it!_" She looks at the green-clad Ninja as her blue head protector falls to the ground, remembering Lee's vow and efforts to help her. "_We're not even teammates, and you put your life on the line for me. All this time, you've all been teaching me something. It's about time I learnt the lesson. Okay, no more caving. Now it's my turn to take the lead… and all of you can watch me from the background."_ Sakura feels ready to take them on, maybe but she knows she has to do this to help her team, Lee tries to get up but is too injured from Dosu's Sound Jutsu.

"Sakura, be careful!" He warns her and faints.

"Kin, finish her!" Zaku orders his female teammate, who gets out three Senbon Needles from her weapon pouch putting them between her fingers as Sakura performs hand signs, thankfully Kin can't see as Sakura has her back to the Sound Ninja. Kin goes for her, thinking she got the pinkette, a puff of smoke alerts her to Sakura having performed a Substitution with a log.

"A Substitution Jutsu!" Kin gasps as she looks away but doesn't see the pinkette, but she pops up running for Zaku who seems ready for the Leaf Genin.

"Kin, get out of the way!" Zaku orders her, and she jumps away to safety as Sakura runs towards him and throws Kunai at him. "Pathetic! Thanks for the present. Hope you don't mind if I return it." Sakura stops in her tracks and performs the same hand signs. "Again, with the hands?" She stops having finished in time for the Kunai knives to get close enough. "**Slicing Soundwave!"** He uses the air tubes to release an immense pressure of air forcing the Kunai back towards her but again she's replaced by a log of wood. "What a surprise. Where are you now?" He looks left to right then up to see Sakura coming towards him, and she starts performing hand signs to throw him off. "You really want to keep playing this? Because I'm not falling for it." He warns her and takes out a handful of Kunai knives. "Alright, if you insist." He throws them hitting Sakura, she covers vital parts but is still his in the arm and leg, drawing blood, Zaku dismisses her unaware she is still coming towards him and looks around waiting for her to pop up. "Okay, so where are you coming from next?"

A drop of blood falls onto his head protector and his face, he looks up to see her ready to strike with a Kunai as she comes closer. "No!" She pushes into him, causing him to fall onto his back as she stabs him in the arm and bites his other arm, shocking everyone again. Zaku gets over the pain in his right arm and starts trying to get Sakura off of his left arm as she keeps a tight grip with her teeth, and he resorts to hitting her in the back of the head. "What are you? Crazy or something? Get off of me!" All of them watch on as Zaku keeps punching Sakura in the head, Rio flinches in pain as if feeling the pain and her hands start twitching as if trying to get to her twin. "Somebody get this crazy girl off of me! Get her off!"

Ino watches on as Zaku keeps punching Sakura, she sees the blood on her face from the multitude of hits and remembers her rivalry with the younger pinkette and her promise to protect her if Rio couldn't. She knows she has to fulfil that promise. Zaku frees himself of Sakura's tight grip and throws her away onto the ground angrily. "Now you're going to play."

"Oh, man! This is bad!" Choji panics as the three watch the fight in front of them.

"Well, Ino?" Shikamaru asks her, needing to know soon or Sakura is dead.

"Say so long, kid." Zaku snarls at the pinkette as he holds his hollow air tubes towards her ready to blast her away and the three onlookers join the fight. Ino, Shikamaru and an unwilling Choji stand between Zaku and Sakura, shielding the injured pinkette and having joined the battle to keep Team 7 safe. "So what's this? The second string?" Zaku scoffs, looking at them, Sakura looks up in surprise at the blond as they were rivals and has no idea of the promise between her sister and the blond.

"Ino," Sakura calls out as if feeling the many hits to her head is playing tricks on her.

"Surprised? I swore I'd never let you show me up, didn't I?" Ino reminds her, trying to act cool and calm in front of the pinkette and Sound Ninja.

"Ino. but why?" Sakura asks the blond in surprise.

"I'm tired of you showing off in front of Sasuke, and trying to get all of the credit!" Ino lies to the pinkette, not wanting to tell her of the promise she made with her twin sister when they were younger when they were all friends.

"These Leaf Village worms will be sorry they squirmed their way into something that doesn't concern them." Dosu curses them and gives a mean glare in their direction, shaking Choji further.

"Are you two crazy? What are we doing here? These guys are bad news, man." Choji warns them in fear.

"Don't look at me. It was Ino's idea. But what are we supposed to do? Just sit back and let a girl do all the fighting?" Shikamaru reasons with a slight hit of chivalry or ego.

"Sorry for dragging you both into this. But we are a three-man squad, right? All for one, and one for all." Ino laughs a little with fear but pushes it back.

"Yeah. what's meant to happen, will." Shikamaru agrees with her.

"This ain't teamwork! I call this suicide! Let me out of here! Please!" Choji tries running away, but Shikamaru keeps a tight grip on his long white scarf, keeping him from running away like a coward.

"Stop. you're getting on my nerves." The raven-haired tween warns him, pulling him back a little but that doesn't stop the brunette from trying to run.

"Better a live sheep than a dead lion." Zaku points out with a chuckle. "Right, fatso?" He hits the worst button on Choji's hit list stopping the chubby Ninja, even Shikamaru knows never to hit that button, the biggest worst one there is, and the cocky Sound Ninja has hit it big time.

"You wanna try saying that again?" Choji asks him, hoping he heard him wrong.

"I said, you're smart to get out while you still can… fatty," Zaku repeats but doesn't think about the consequences of saying that deadly word at the end. Choji lets the words sink in for a tense moment of silence before he turns around with rage.

"Who are you calling fat? I'm just a little chubby, okay?!" Choji screams in anger, feeling overpowered. "Chubbies forever!" Sakura and the Sound Ninja look confused a little at the outburst. "That does it. Now, this is personal! It's a fight to the death between Leaf and Sound!" He points at Ino fired up with anger at the cocky Sound Ninja.

"Good job. Thanks a lot. Now we've got to live with him." Shikamaru sighs in annoyance at the raven-haired enemy Ninja.

"Don't worry, it won't be for long." Zaku sneers at the others, needing to get the others out of the way to get to Sasuke. Sakura looks behind her towards the others.

"Oh, Sasuke!" Sakura gasps seeing the state he's in.

"Sakura. Your teammates are down. Look after them." Ino tells her and Sakura nods seeing that they have it covered. "Okay, Team Ino. Let's show 'em who's boss!"

"Got it!" The boys agree, all of them ready to fight.

"Formation! Ino!"

"Shika!"

"Cho!"

"Okay. Take it away, Choji." Ino instructs him as he steps forward.

"My pleasure! **Expansion Jutsu!"** His middle expands out large making him almost like a ball. "Followed by **Leaf Style Taijutsu!"** He pulls his arms, legs and head into it and spins in the air like a massive cannonball ready to knock someone down. "**Human Boulder Jutsu!"** Choji goes straight for the cocky Sound Ninja, revenge for calling him fat.

"You've got to be kidding. Maybe I'm supposed to laugh myself to death. **Slicing Soundwave!"** Zaku tries keeping Choji's attack away with high pressure of air, but Choji persists, keeping rolling towards him though Zaku keeps him at bay with difficulty and ups his force, so he jumps into the air avoiding the attack. "He jumped the airstream!" Zaku watches above as Choji jumps into the air, panicking about his next move

"Zaku!" Dosu calls out to him and tries running towards him, but Shikamaru joins the fight.

"**Ninja Art. Shadow Possession Jutsu!"** He uses the hand sign and his shadow races towards Dosu connecting their shadows together, stopping the Sound Ninja in his tracks.

"What's happening?" Dosu gasps and sees what Shikamaru has done, allowing Choji to try squashing Zaku who unfortunately rolls out of the way. Shikamaru plays around striking a funny pose meaning Dosu also does the same pose, looking rather ridiculous.

"What is it? Why are you just standing there like that?" Kin questions him and turns, seeing that Shikamaru is also doing the same thing, with a snigger.

"It's some kind of Paralysis Jutsu." Dosu struggles to say as Shikamaru continues making a fool out of him.

"Ino, I'll leave the girl to you," Shikamaru tells her.

"Okay, you got it. Just take care of my body while I'm gone." She tells him, and he agrees, and she does the hand sign. "**Ninja Art. Mind Transfer Jutsu!"** Ino's mind goes into the female Sound Ninja as Choji bulldozers towards Zaku who jumps out of the way again.

"Enough of this." He snaps in frustration. "Kin!" He shouts out to his comrade who stands with her head down as Ino takes hold of her body.

"What's wrong with you?!" Dosu shouts at her, seeing she's standing, doing nothing.

"Party's over, fellas," Ino-Kin announces, holding a Kunai to her throat as a warning, surprising the two of them. "Take it easy. One false move from either of you and your teammate here gets it in the neck. You don't want that to happen. So here's what you do. Just drop the scroll and walk away. When you're far enough away that I can't sense your Chakras. I'll let her go." She feels something is wrong with them, they don't seem worried for their teammate one bit. "Hey, Choji!" She calls out to him.

"What is it? What are they up to?" Sakura yells as she watches as Zaku lifts his arm up towards Ino-Kin and strikes, Choji tries to get to her but bounces off of the air stream away, and Ino-Kin is knocked into the trunk of the tree behind her. Real Ino in Shikamaru's hold bleeds from the mouth thanks to the hit in the back which Ino-Kin also mirrors.

"This is bad!" Shikamaru curses, seeing the damage from the attack and Choji transforms back feeling sick from all the rolling around.

"I don't feel so good." He complains as he tries holding back the sick feeling.

"I-I don't understand you guys. What kind of monster would attack their own teammate?" Ino-Kin asks as she struggles from the hard hit on the back, looking up at the two Sound Ninja.

"I guess monsters like us." Zaku grins with a menacing look on his face.

"You see, we don't play this fame by your rules. It's not the scrolls we're after, or even passing this test." Dosu explains, and this reveal shocks the others now in the fight.

"What then?" Ino-Kin asks, unsure of their real motives.

"Sasuke." He answers and Shikamaru's Jutsu runs out of time. "So, your Paralysis Jutsu has a pretty limited duration, I see."

"Shadow Possession Jutsu. Get your Jutsu, right!" Shikamaru corrects him.

"Whatever. And I see that your teammate is able to slip her soul into her opponent. Very clever, but dangerous. Anything that happens to Kin happens to her, too. So if, say, Kin were to die…" Dosu trails off, leaving the threat in the air.

"What are you going to do? Kill your teammate?" Shikamaru questions, not believing someone could do such a thing.

"Well, if push comes to shove… yeah."Zaku answers and holds his arm out towards Ino-Kin to prove his point.

"Oh man, what a drag," Shikamaru complains as he holds Ino, knowing they aren't playing around.

"Yeah, no kidding." Choji agrees, his stomach had stopped rolling around.

"Did you really think you could beat us? Face it, you Ninja are just a bunch of hacks." Zaku digs at them, overly cocky as usual.

"From a second-rate village." Dosu adds in.

"Huh. That's pretty tough talk." Neji announces his and Tenten's arrival, everyone looks up following the voice up one of the trees to see Lee's teammates. "I guess that makes your village third-rate. I wonder if any of you amateurs are ready to take on the real thing."

"What?" Dosu snaps in anger.

"It's Lee's team, I wondered when they'd get here," Sakura mutters to herself.

"Lee!" Tenten gasps, seeing the damage done to him as he lies on the ground badly injured.

"You blew it." Neji scoffs, looking at his teammate.

"Ha, these Genin keep popping out of the woods like cockroaches." Dosu sneers up at Neji.

"It looks to me like somebody used our teammate as a punching bag. No one does that and gets away with it!" Neji yells and activates his Byakugan, veins reach around the side of his eyes, giving a fearful effect to his anger. "No more playing around, Tenten. Full power!" He orders and looks overseeing the immense Chakra coming from Sasuke and stiffens which Tenten notices.

"What's the matter? Neji?" She asks him in concern seeing the fear on his face.

"Well? Are you going to stay up there all day?" Dosu pokes at them.

"Actually, it looks like it might have been taken out of my hands." He answers with a hidden smirk, and everyone looks over to Sasuke feeling the intense Chakra coming off of him in waves.

"Sasuke, you're awake!" Sakura beams in happiness but stops short when she sees the horrifying change.

"Sasuke? That's Sasuke?" Ino-Kin gasps seeing Sasuke with burning red marks over half of his body and a deadly aura surrounding him.

"Sakura...who did this to you?" Sasuke asks her in a threatening tone, meaning death. "Who was it?"

"Sasuke, wha-what's happened to you?" Sakura asks him, in fear for him or fear of him as she looks at him, his Sharingan activated with the black markings over half of his face and down his left arm.

"Don't worry, I'm alright. It's only the power flowing through me. In fact, I've never felt better. He gave me this gift. And he made me understand what I am. I'm an avenger. To follow my path, I must have power, at any price. Even if it means being consumed by evil." Sasuke spouts out the nonsense Orochimaru's Curse Mark delusions put into his head. "Sakura, tell me. Which one of these people did this to you?"

"That'd be me." The cocky Sound Ninja makes a big mistake in telling the vengeful Uchiha, who faces him but the smug Ninja isn't fazed by the evil appearance of the young Ninja.

"Ino!" Shikamaru whisper-yells towards Ino-Kin who looks over to see him hiding again in the bushes. "Hurry up and get back in your body. You don't want to get involved in this. You, too, Choji. Come on! Get out of there!"

"I'm coming!" Choji readily agrees and runs towards his friend, and Ino-Kin does the release hand sign.

"**Mind Transfer… Release."** Ino jumps back into her own body, leaving Kin to fall to the floor and awake in her own body, feeling the pain from the tree hit still.

"Atta girl. Good to have you back." Shikamaru smiles, glad she isn't in the crossfire.

"Shikamaru, what's this all about?" Choji asks him. "What's going on?

"How should I know?" Shikamaru snaps at his friend and watches as the dark marks on his body grow red hot again and spread across his body to the other side, covering almost his entire body. Dosu watches in horror, feeling terrified of the overwhelming power coming from the young Uchiha and knows they can't win.

"Dosu! What's wrong, you're not getting cold feet, are you?" Zaku snaps at him, trying to wake him from his haze.

"No! Zaku! You don't understand!" Dosu calls out to him, but he just ignores him.

"Watch this. I'll take care of the whole bunch of them in one fell swoop!" He yells and raises his hands, aiming straight for the Leaf Genin. "**Supersonic Slicing Wave!"** An extensive airstream shoots out of Zaku's hollow air tubes towards the four Genin, creating a massive burst of wind, almost knocking the other Leaf Genin away, all that's left in its wake is a trench. "Ha, what do you know. Blew 'em all away!"

"Not quite," Sasuke answers from behind him and the dust disappears showing what's left is a domed wall of wood, Zaku looks in shock to see Sasuke next to him, and he uses this to push him hard, knocking him to the dirt skidding towards Dosu.

"Zaku!" Dosu calls out to him as he tries getting up at his feet from the hard hit. "Such speed, he moved in the blink of an eye out of harm's way, but where are his teammates?" Everyone looks over at the domed wall of wood as it deforms showing the scared Sakura, still sleeping Naruto and Rio, now standing looking almost in a daze as if not really awake.

"Rio!" The Leaf Genin all call out to her in shock at the new Jutsu and her state, but she doesn't respond.

"**Fire Style! Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"** Sasuke uses the distraction to perform the Jutsu and fires towards the cocky Sound Ninja.

"I don't think so." Zaku sneers. "Try this!" He thrusts his arms out in front of him trying to extinguish the flames, but something is in the fire. "In the flames! Shuriken!" He cries out as he sees them coming towards him, slicing into his skin.

"Zaku, get down!" Dosu orders him and Sasuke uses the distraction to get in front of him, and spins him onto his knees, holding his arms behind the Sound Ninja with his foot on his back.

"I don't know why you're so worried about him, you should worry about yourself." An eerie voice warns him from behind, Dosu looks behind to see Rio standing with a dark look on her once innocent face. A spike of wood thrusts out from her shoulder, piercing him in the arm, he jumps back with a cry as several pieces of wood come out from Rio's back, rising into the air, ready to strike. "No one hurts my friends, no one hurts my sister and lives to tell about it." She snarls, and the pieces of wood strike out towards the Sound Ninja, who jumps away from the attack, one lone strand of wood uppercuts Dosu sending him into the air, another strikes down, crashing him down into the ground with a loud thud. Everyone watches the two new fighters as they overpower the Sound Ninja easily, Sasuke with a sadistic grin and Rio with a void of expression.

"You seem to be very proud of these arms of yours. You must be very attached to them." Sasuke sneers as he pushes his foot in Zaku's back, straining the joints in his shoulders.

"No! What are you doing?!" Zaku cries out as Sasuke pushes harder and with a sickening crack, he breaks both of Zaku's arms, the cracking sound wakes Rio from her daze, and she looks over to her best friend, changed, she shakes her head hoping it's all a dream, but it's not, it's a living nightmare.

"Sasuke, please that's enough, you're out of control," Rio warns him and steps into his path as he tries to walk to the floored Dosu who tries getting to his feet.

"No!" Sakura shouts and runs at Sasuke. "Stop!" She hugs him from behind, stopping him from walking any closer to the injured Sound Ninja. "Don't do it!" Sasuke turns to look at the pinkette attached to his back and sees her crying. "Stop! Please." She whimpers into his back, trying to calm him from his bloodlust. Sasuke sees the tears and fear in her eyes, and the marks begin to recede, and he feels the effects of the overuse of Chakra and falls, Sakura helps him to sit carefully. "Sasuke," She sighs in relief seeing him back to normal, though breathing heavily thanks to the mark.

"You're strong, Sasuke." Dosu remarks and they look over to see Dosu up on his feet a bit banged up thanks to Rio. "You as well, girly. Too strong. We can't hope to defeat you the way you are now." He places the earth scroll of theirs on the ground. "We'll strike a deal. I give you this scroll, and you let us go." They look at the scroll in surprise as Dosu picks up the heavily injured Zaku with one arm. "It would seem we underestimated you. But at least we found out what we needed to know." He picks up the unconscious Kin thanks to Ino's Jutsu. "For the moment, we're even. But if it should happen that we ever again meet in combat. I promise you, we won't run or hide." Dosu begins to walk away, but Sakura looks at her sister and Sasuke and thinks of the new abilities they have because of Orochimaru.

"Wait!" She calls him to a stop, and he turns to face her. "Who is this Orochimaru anyway?! What's he done to Sasuke and my sister?! And why them?!"

"I don't know. All I know is that we were told to target Sasuke. And we did. I don't know why he sent us to assassinate someone on whom he's bestowed such powers. I don't know why Sasuke even survived the Curse Mark. There are many things I don't know. And your sister wasn't meant to survive, she should be dead." Dosu answers her, and Sakura looks at her sister who looks paler than before, and Rio watches the injured Sound Ninja walk away leaving the Leaf Ninja alone with many questions.

"Hey! You guys, okay?" Choji asks from his safe spot in the bushes.

"Ino, you look after Lee. We'll check out the kid." Shikamaru orders them as they run out to the others.

"Right!" She agrees as she runs to the green-clad Ninja.

"Rio is in danger. I'll protect her!" Naruto dreams as Shikamaru and Choji check on him. "Don't worry, Rio, it's okay. I'll save you."

"Whoa. Somebody ought to kick him and wake him up. This is embarrassing." Shikamaru grimaces as he watches the blond.

"Can I kick him first?" Choji asks his best friend.

"No, leave him alone," Rio orders them, they jump back as she walks over to them.

"Just what am I?" Sasuke ponders as he looks at his hand as it shakes along with his whole body.

"What happened while we were out is what I want to know," Rio comments and looks around seeing the damage in the clearing. Wondering what she had done, having been in a haze, she couldn't remember after Naruto being taken out by that creep, everything else after that was a blank, pain, she can remember that clearly.

**I did another one! Hope you like, please comment if you want or show your love or like, I got super into this chapter! Also, I loved all of the comments from the previous chapters they really help to inspire me, and if you have any questions about anything about my chapters, then please let me know, and I'll try to answer them. DEADGIRLETERNAL OUT!**


	10. Cruel Strength! No Peeking Allowed!

_Chunin Exams Arc - Episode 34 - 35_

**Rio's POV:**

"Sakura where's my bag?" I ask my sister, who seems overly worried about Sasuke as they sit away from everyone. She points over to the tree, and I see my bag, I grab Shikamaru, and we walk, leaving Choji with Naruto. "What happened while I was down?"

"Well, we got here sometime later after those Sound Ninja attacked Lee and well we joined in after seeing your sister put up a fight against them," Shikamaru tells me, and I look over, seeing my sister all bruised, her hair is short, her hair is SHORT! I run towards her, attacking her in a hug, startling her and Sasuke.

"My poor, sweet, innocent little baby sister! Your poor hair!" I yell, making her laugh a little. "Did those mean Sound Ninja cut your hair?" I ask her, and I play with the short strands of hair.

"No, I did, that girl Kin had a hold of my hair, and I cut it to get away." She answers, and I nod in understanding as I look at it.

"I think it suits you; we can match more now!" I beam as I play with my short hair, I run back to Shikamaru and look through my bag, seeing Sakura must have used some of it after we were out of it. "What happened after that?" I ask him to continue.

"We tried helping, then Sasuke woke up. He was bad; there was black marking over his face and arm. Then the guy with the black spikey hair, he tried taking you all out, you saved your sister and Naruto."

"I did? How?" I ask, not remembering any of it.

"I don't know, I've never seen anything like it before, but it looked like wood, then you attacked that mummy guy and then Sasuke broke the other guy's arms." Shikamaru catches me up, and I hum as I think about what he said, I look at the hole in my jacket shoulder. I take it off seeing several rips, all the same size on my back, I huff, something strange is going on, something I've never seen or heard of before. I need to talk to Kakashi-sensei soon.

"Thank you Shikamaru, for helping my sister, you and Choji didn't have to jump in like that," I tell him and he looks a little confused, but he understands, Ino and I have a promise. I get out some smelling salts for Naruto along with some bandages and ointments for Lee and the others. I walk over to Ino who looks over the injured boy, and I give her some of them and start placing some of the herbal healing ointments on the cuts and bruises he got from helping my sister. "Thank you Ino, for sticking to your promise."

"Well, if I didn't, I know you'd kick my butt, and you're my friend." Ino replies and I smile, seeing the small trickle of blood out the corner of her mouth, I had her a pain tonic and a cloth for the blood before going back to bandaging Lee. "Man, this really works!" Ino beams as she finishes drinking it and hugs me. "I've got him." I nod before getting to my feet and walking over to Sakura and Sasuke; I wordlessly begin working on her bruised face, she flinches a little from the alcohol rub as I plaster some of the wounds.

"Don't be a baby; if you can take the hits, then you can take the care." I snap at her, a little angry at myself for allowing her to get hit like this. That I couldn't protect her.

"I'm okay, Onee-sama." She tells me, I feel tears begin to build up in my eyes and I wrap up the cuts from the Kunai, they weren't too deep. A few drops of tears fall onto the bandages as I wrap her arm, she places her hand over mine as I finish, trying to comfort me. "I'm okay," She repeats as she pulls me into a hug.

"Everybody hide!" Naruto's shouts ruin our moment; I look over at him to see him lying on his front, looking around scared. "Quick! Get down! That Ninja! Where could she be hiding?!"

"Naruto?" Sakura questions as she pulls out of our hug, looking over at the blond, lying on the ground. Choji hits Naruto on the back of his head with a stick as Shikamaru and Choji stand over him.

"You really are one of a kind, that's for sure," Shika complains, and Naruto looks over his shoulder to see the boys, looking down at him. "And I mean you're the kind that gets on my nerves." I shake my head and pull Sakura back into our hug.

"Oh, no! Sakura!" Naruto cries out, and we all look over as he runs over chanting her name, I pull away out of the hug this time.

"What?" She snaps at him.

"Something happened to your… I mean, something serious happened to your- to your hair!" He announces as he skids to a stop behind me.

"Oh. that's all." She answers and touches her messy hair. "I just wanted to change my look." There is a tense moment hoping Naruto will buy the story. "I like it better long. But when I'm out in the wilderness like this, and I'm moving around, it gets in the way too much." Naruto seems to buy the lie and looks over as Shika and Choji join us.

"What's your story? Why are you guys here in the first place? What's going on around here?" He asks the boys that look down at him; they share a look and sigh.

"Explaining everything to you is going to be a pain," Shika complains as usual.

"Everyone just showed up to help." Sakura lies again.

"What?" Naruto gasps and I see Tenten come down in front of Ino as she carries Lee.

"I'll take care of him now, Ino." She tells the blond.

"Er… okay." Ino agrees and hands the boy over, Tenten begins shaking Lee violently, I try to get up, but Sakura stops me.

"Come on, Lee, pull it together! Snap out of it, alright?!" She yells and shakes him, which wakes the injured boy, she lets him go, and he falls on his knees.

"Tenten, is that you? What are you doing here?" He asks, a little confused, and she kneels in front of him.

"I came to help you out. What do you think?!" She snaps at him lightly.

"What? Where are those Sound Ninja guys?" He asks as he looks around.

"Sasuke and Rio took care of them. Don't worry about it, Lee." She tells him, and I walk over to them.

"Really?" He looks over, seeing Sasuke sitting by Sakura and the others and me walking towards them.

"What were you thinking, rushing in all by yourself? Look at you; you're all bandaged up." Tenten scolds him, and he feels the bandages and band-aids over his face.

"Well, Sakura was in trouble, so I had to do something, right?" Lee argues.

"That was pretty darn stupid, don't you think?" She snaps at him, and he curls into himself.

"Well, I guess I cannot really argue with that." He agrees, and I crouch down to his level.

"Hi Lee, thank you for helping my sister." I smile, and he blushes a little at the attention. "Also she told me you were hit with a high frequency that seems to have damaged your ear, so I want to give you these drops. They should help, only two drops every 6 to 8 hours for three days and your inner ear will be back to normal." I explain, and he gives me a big smile.

"Thank you very much for your help." He exclaims.

"It's the least I could do for what you did for my sister," I reply, and Naruto runs over pointing at Lee.

"Aha! I know you, Bushy Brow!" He exclaims at him, with attitude.

"Hey! Knock it off!" Sakura roars at the overexcited blond. "You'd better not say anything bad about Lee!" She punches Naruto away, hard causing him to fly away, I run after him, seeing if he's okay as Sakura keeps shouting at him.

"Naruto are you okay?" I ask him as he lies on his front, watching Lee and Sakura with a frown.

"Lee. Thank you." She pulls his attention from us, guess he didn't know she has a mean punch. "Because of you, I was able to stand up for myself, and I've become a little stronger." Lee takes a gulp and tears up a little at her, guess the crush on her is more potent now too.

"Thank you, Sakura." He whimpers and wipes away the tears with the back of his hand. "But I guess my efforts alone were not good enough. So, Sasuke… you are as good as your reputation, just as you'd expect from the Uchiha Clan. To chase off those Ninja, you must be very strong. Not like me. I just got beaten to a pulp." He confesses, hearing it is shocking seeing as at first he did come on top of Sasuke and seeing the state the boy's in, he put up a fight to keep my sister and us safe. "Sakura. The lotus of the Leaf Village blooms twice. When we meet again, I will have become a stronger Ninja. I promise." I smile at his determination, Naruto next to me huffs, and I knock his arm out from under his chin, making his head fall into the dirt.

"Hey, what was that for!" He yells, and I smile at him.

"Don't be mean to Lee; he's the one who helped along with the others to keep us safe from those Sound Ninja," I tell him, I hear Ino cal out to Sakura about her hair, and I begin explaining what happened from what Shika told me. Everyone begins to leave on their own, leaving the four of us alone in the clearing.

"We should move on, too; we need to rest up." Sasuke takes charge, and we jump away into the trees and head for the river.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

It's the fourth day of the Exam, and I am tired, I tie my jacket around my waist as I stand at the bank of the river as Naruto and his clones stand at the top of the higher ground while Sakura gets the fire ready, and Sasuke has gone looking for more food. "**Shadow Clone Fishing Jutsu!** Bombs away!" Naruto calls out before him and his clones all jump down into the water. Directing the fish towards me and force them out of the safety of the water. I get out a Kunai ready when a single fish pops out of the surface of the water, with no time to waste, I throw my Kunai, stabbing it into the opposite side of the river, into a tree trunk, more fish pop out and I do the same, catching all four, that's not going to be enough. Naruto pops out of the water, breathing heavily from lack of oxygen looking a little annoyed.

"Well? Come on, is that it? I only got four. Now go and do it again." I order him, I know him, and Sasuke will still be hungry.

"What?!" Naruto growls in anger.

"You and Sasuke could eat four fish by yourselves." I reason, and he signs in annoyance again.

"Well, it's not easy, why don't you do it and I'll catch the fish!" He huffs some more.

"Sasuke!" Sakura calls out his arrival back to camp. "The fire's ready to light. I could use one of your fireballs."

"I've got an idea, Naruto, get out of the water and get your Kunai at the ready," I tell him, and he scrambles to the shore. "**Water Style! Water Dragon Whip!"** I use the correct hand signs quickly getting better, and the water in the middle of the river begins spinning around, rising into the air. Fish in the stream as I move the water around so Naruto can get a shot, he throws his Kunai into the water, piercing the fish and we catch another lot. I direct the water back into the river, and we collect the 16 fish and head back to Sasuke and Sakura who seem to be chatting again, love is in the air.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

The fire goes as it cooks the first lot of fish as we wait around, I am so hungry. "It's already been four days since the second exam began." Sasuke points out.

"That's right." Sakura readily agrees, and I nod.

"We're sure not gonna break any records. And we only have 24 hours left." Sasuke reminds us.

"I wonder how many teams have already got their scrolls and finished." Sakura sighs, I hold my chest as I think of telling them about the scroll still with us but hold off, this is Sasuke's stupid fault, he was willing to give our scroll to that creep and not even fight. I look at Naruto as he drools over the fish hungrily and I take the biggest one before him.

"Hey, that was my one!" He complains, but the others take theirs, and we dig in.

"We have to face it. There may not be any more heaven scrolls left." Sakura comments in a dreary tone.

"Such a pessimistic tone, dear baby sister," I comment as I look at her sad face, Sasuke agrees with me.

"Maybe so, but it's true. Look, you said it yourself, Sasuke. This is the fourth day we've been out here. That means we've already used up 80 % of the time we've got to complete the Exam. Only 13 teams can pass, because there are only 13 pairs of heaven and earth scrolls, and you've got 26 teams, 79 candidates out looking for them. And if those odds weren't bad enough, things have gotten even worse. Don't forget, that creep Orochimaru burnt the heaven scroll we had." Sakura explains her dark thoughts.

"Yeah, I remember." Sasuke nods, and I scoff in annoyance.

"Well, you should, it was your fault," I mutter as I eat.

"The number of complete pairs of scrolls that could be found was reduced by one right there. Not to mention all the ones that have been found and secured by other teams since then." Sakura reasons and I glare daggers at Sasuke, our friendship is a little rocky right now.

"Maybe we gave ourselves too much time to rest and recover from our last fight. I don't know. What I do know is that we've got to get serious now, and make up for lost time. The next enemy we face could be our last chance. I'm gonna get water." Sasuke says and gets up from his seat and walks off back to the stream. I get up to follow Sasuke but stop when I hear Naruto whisper our names, and looks at him holding up the scroll.

"I know how we can do this without having to fight anyone. Look." Naruto gets his pouch and shakes out a few scrolls.

"Look at what?" Sakura asks him, not getting it.

"What do you mean, look at what? Scrolls, I've got tons of them. You know, manuals of Ninjutsu and stuff like that. We could change one of these to look like the heaven scroll." Naruto explains his idea, one I've already done, and it saved us having to look for another.

"Stop! Don't even!" Sakura warns him, holding her hand out to stop him. "Even if you could fake the outside, how do you fake what's written inside? You couldn't know without reading it, and that's against the rules. Idiot!"

"I've got it all figured out. I think these things have a secret code written in them that only makes sense if you put them both together. Yeah! And that secret code is like the password you need in order to get into the tower at the end of the Exam. Get it?" Naruto says, and it makes sense.

"All I get is that you're a nimrod. We've never even had a heaven scroll, so how are we going to fake what's inside it?" Sakura unleashes on him, making him think about it. "The next brilliant idea you get, how about keeping it to yourself? We've got enough problems."

"But wait. We do have a clue to what's inside the heaven scroll. The earth scroll." Naruto reasons holding the scroll up.

"You wouldn't!" I snap as I try to take it off of him, but he pulls it away.

"It's our only chance. I'm going to open and read the scroll." He announces, and Sakura punches him in the head to stop him.

"No! Naruto, can't you get it through your empty head? We're expressly forbidden from opening the scrolls before arriving at the tower." She scolds him.

"I know. But if we don't do anything, we'll never make it!" Naruto responds, and I see Sakura cave.

"Both of you stop being idiots, it's not going to work, there's probably safety measures that ensure that the scroll doesn't get opened." I try warning them as Naruto holds the scroll away from me as I try taking it off of him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A hand stops Naruto, from further opening the scroll, I look to see Kabuto. Sasuke runs over and tries to attack Kabuto, but he explains why he was here, trying to play the hero.

"I can't believe you guys." Sasuke sighs as if we were in the wrong.

"If I hadn't come along when I did…" Kabuto tries playing the hero again.

"Sorry, Sasuke."

"Sorry…" Naruto and Sakura apologise, but I'm so not.

"I was trying to stop them." I point out, and Kabuto nods as if agreeing with me. Not a chance four-eyes I don't trust or like you, so step away from my corner.

"There have been others that have broken the rules and tried to peel at the scrolls. I've seen what happens to them. They're protected by a powerful Hypnosis Jutsu, a kind of booby trap for anyone unwise enough to try to read them. It'll knock you senseless, and by the time you wake up, the Exam is over." He explains, and I slap the back of Naruto and Sakura's back, pushing them a little as they groan in pain.

"I told you, I told you that we shouldn't open them, but did you listen to me? No!" I roar at them and calm down a little.

"Kabuto, right? We met at the registration. What are you doing wandering around all by yourself?" Sasuke questions him.

"Don't worry, I'm not after your earth scroll," Kabuto assures us.

"I guess not; I suppose if you were, you would have just swiped it from Naruto when you had the chance. So you're looking for a heaven scroll, too, huh?" I point out as I look at him.

"Not really. You see, I already have them both." He replies, getting out his scrolls from his pocket. "I had a run of luck. I was just on my way to the tower to wait for my teammates to show up. So, if you'll excuse me…" As if after that, Sasuke will let him leave with two scrolls.

"Hold it," Sasuke orders the glasses Ninja, I called it. "I'll fight you for it."

"You'll fight me for it?" Kabuto repeats with a humoured tone.

"But Sasuke…" Sakura whispers.

"Hold on a second. Is this a joke or what?" Naruto snaps at the raven-haired boy.

"Are you serious?" Kabuto asks him.

"Perfectly. Sorry, but I don't have time to play nice." Sasuke responds.

"Back off, Sasuke. In case you've forgotten, this guy saved our butts." Naruto rages at the Uchiha.

"Naruto's got a point. We don't want to be ungrateful or anything." My sweet sister sides with the blond.

"Shut up." He snaps at her, I stomp my foot into the ground to stop myself from hitting the arrogance out of him since he woke up he's been a real arrogant snappy pain, not my best friend.

"But Sasuke…" She whispers, hurt but his harsh tone.

"It can't be helped. It's either him or us. Out here it's all about surviving and winning, nothing else matters." Sasuke declares and gets ready to strike.

"You're lying." Kabuto arrogantly smirks.

"He is? Because he looks like he wants to beat you up pretty badly." I comment from the sidelines.

"Come on, admit it. For all your tough talk, your heart really isn't in it. If it was true if winning was really the only thing that mattered to you, why openly challenge me to a fight? Why announce it and put me on my guard? Why not just choke me when my back is turned? After all, that's what a Ninja would do." Kabuto pokes at the Uchiha.

"That's pretty deep." Naruto comments.

"It's okay. Actually, I admire you for it. So here's what I'll do. I'll show you the path you should follow. But let's go. It's best we get out of here. The smell of that cooking fire is going to draw every wild beast in the forest. And not only animals but the competition, too." Kabuto replies, something is up, and I don't like, before anyone can move I pull the others to me as I hear the rustle of leaves coming from a tree, meaning an enemy Ninja was spying on us.

"We need a group vote," I announce and pull them to the water and face away from him performing the hand signs quickly and place my hands on the ground. "**Earth Style! Wall."** It barriers us from Kabuto and the others look at me strangely as I take out the scroll from my shirt, I glare at them as they open their mouths. "I didn't tell you because I'm angry at Sasuke for trying to barter the fake I made from Naruto's scrolls to that creep. You didn't even bother to fight, you would rather run and hide then Kabuto comes and tries to act all cool and heroic, and it gave me an idea, he'll be our guide, and we can get to the tower relatively safe if everything goes well and we've passed." I explain, and Sakura looks at me with her arms crossed.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She asks, and I give her a look.

"Because you'd tell Sasuke in a heartbeat and Naruto is terrible at keeping secrets," I answer, and I look at the boys who don't look too happy.

"So what should we do, tell Kabuto we don't need one and he'll lead us there right?" Naruto wonders.

"No, Kabuto thinks we need a scroll, so he's willing to help us if he learns we magically have one he'll grow suspicious, so we agree for his help, take one, and that means one less team, making it to the final round," I explain, and they all nod and I put the scroll away. "Sasuke, I won't forgive you for trying to give Orochimaru the scroll, because I know you're strong and you were scared, that isn't the Sasuke I know." I release the Jutsu, and we walk over to Kabuto.

"So, what say you?" He asks as if he already knows the answer.

"We agree, but anything happens to them, and I will get you back," I warn him, and he jumps off with a nod, and we follow behind him.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

We've been running through this forest for hours. We haven't gotten closer to the tower, with Kabuto in the lead. "You think there are still other candidates out here?" Sasuke asks him, playing along.

"Oh yeah. Just think about it. What do you think is the most efficient way of finding the scrolls in an area as large as this? To go searching through the forest for them?" Kabuto questions as we jump tree to tree.

"Er… no?" Sakura answers.

"No. You wait for them to come to you. The tower in the centre of the forest is the goal, right? So on the last day of the Exam, that area will be crawling with teams converging on the tower with their scrolls." Kabuto explains.

"Oh yeah, I get it. Like an ambush! So we just head for the tower, find a hiding place, and when a team comes along with a heaven scroll, we jump them and take it." Sakura gets the plan.

"That's one-third of the problem. You guys aren't going to be the only ones thinking of this. Every other team that's lacking the scroll will be lying in wait just like you." Kabuto points out, that will be a problem, but still, we're ready.

"So what? The more, the merrier, I say." Naruto exclaims ready for a fight like always. "Whoever they are, we'll take care of them. Wouldn't want this to be too easy. That wouldn't be any fun." Looks like he's down with the plan. "Okay. so we grab someone else's scroll and keep those losers from grabbing ours, and bingo, we've passed the second Exam!"

"That's two-thirds of the problem," Kabuto adds in again.

"Well, at least we're getting closer. What else?" I ask him, needing more information before we get there.

"There's bound to be some collectors lurking around at the finish line." He answers.

"Collectors?" Sakura questions.

"Even when you think you're home free, you can't relax your guard for an instant. This kind of Exam always brings them out. Collectors. They gather extra sets of scrolls to use for various ends. For example, to bribe their way out of unexpected situations, or to provide their village mates with the scroll they're lacking. Some steal them to keep candidates from rival villages from passing or to help out teams from their own village who couldn't find the scrolls on their own. Others steal them for their own dark purposes. They'll hang on to them to use against the stronger teams further down the line. They'll be there, alright. And they're bad news. The closer you get to the tower, the more likely you'll be to run into them." Kabuto explains more, it sounds terrible, we'll need to navigate through all of that and hope we run into a team we can handle.

"I see. And I think I'm starting to understand why you brought us along with you. It's because you're frightened, aren't you?" Sasuke taunts him a little.

"You bet I am." He admits too quickly.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

Night falls, and we're closer to the tower now, I look in front of us to see the building, looking haunting with the full moon behind it illuminating the forest in an eerie glow. "There's the tower, and that means the end is in sight. Now comes the hard part." Kabuto announces as we stand at the ready.

"Well, it's about time. Bring it on!" Naruto cheers, alerting everyone that we're here, never the stealthy Ninja and I hear a rustle from behind us.

"I heard something behind us." I alert the others, and Naruto gets out a Kunai and throws it behind us, we all look to see what he hit, and it's a giant centipede that dies slowly from Narutp's hit in the head.

"Ha, false alarm! It's just a centipede." He scoffs as we look at the thing.

"Just a centipede? That creepy thing's as big as a bus!" Sakura shudders, she hates creepy crawlies as she puts it.

"Hey, Naruto? Do us a favour and try to keep it down to a dull roar, will you?" Kabuto asks him rather politely, but he doesn't seem to get it. "See, the whole idea is not to let anyone know we're here. If you crash around like an elephant, you're going to draw collectors like flies. We wanna find them before they find us." Kabuto warns him.

"Oh, yeah, I see your point." He grimaces in agreement at the thought of getting caught.

"Take it slow and quiet. Let's use all the time we've got left." He tells us, and we all agree and head our separate ways, I use the Hidden Mole Technique to burrow through the earth, I sense others above ground, but I pay attention only to moving closer.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

I pop out of the ground, startling the others as I come up behind them as Kabuto measures the distance. "Okay. we're getting closer." He announces, and we go off further, Kabuto stops Naruto, tapping him on the shoulder and points up, I look up to see bodies in the tree, dead, Kunai in their backs or chests.

"A trap, huh?" Sasuke points out.

"Yeah. and it only gets worse from here on in." Kabuto warns us, and we walk on, till Naruto trips in front of me, setting off a trap, a tripwire, which sets off Kunai that come towards us, I jump back as Kabuto jumps towards Naruto, covering him. He gets hit in the back and falls on the ground, but a cloud of smoke shows it's a Substitution Jutsu. "Well, that was close." He announces himself, I look up to see him perfectly fine up in the tree.

"A Substitution Jutsu!" Naruto sighs in relief for Kabuto is okay not thanks to his clumsiness.

"Like I told you, it only gets worse from here on in." He warns us about, and we continue on.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

It feels like forever as the tower doesn't seem to be getting any closer as if we haven't moved at all, but I know we have because I'm growing tired and my feet are starting to hurt. "For crying out loud!" Sakura complains and falls to her knees, panting for breath, feeling the exhaustion.

"Sakura!" I call out as I crouch down next to her in concern.

"How far have we walked?" She asks "That tower's not getting any closer."

"Now that you mention it, I was thinking that, too! It's weird" Naruto agrees, and then it hits me.

"Maybe not. It would seem we've been spotted." I announce as I look around.

"Somebody is playing games with us. Look." Kabuto points out, and we look to see the same dead centipede. "Ring a bell?"

"Oh man, no way, it can't be! Hey, what's the big idea!" Naruto complains in annoyance.

"What's going on?!" Sakura also complains.

"Genjutsu." Sasuke and I say together,

"That's what it looks like." Kabuto agrees. I hate Genjutsu. "And we fell for it completely. We were so concerned with not being seen by anyone, we didn't see we were walking around in circles."

"What's their game?" Sasuke wonders.

"They're probably trying to wear us down, and then strike when we're frustrated and physically exhausted," Kabuto explains their strategy.

"You mean like we are right now?" I sneer as I look around.

"Right." He answers lightly, not fazed by my anger. "They'll be coming soon." As soon as he says this, movement comes from behind us, I get out a can of Ginseng Tea and chug it quickly to help fight off the fatigue my whole body is feeling along with the stress of this damn test and exhaustion. I grit my teeth as I feel it begin to work as what seem to be clones come out from all directions coming towards, circling us.

"Well, Naruto, you wanted a fight." Sasuke sasses the blond.

"Five against 40. I like those odds." Naruto grins at the odds.

"What are they?" Sakura wonders as they surround us.

"Clones, from the look of it. And a whole lot of them." Kabuto answers, but something isn't right about them, they keep coming out of the woodwork and don't seem to all there if that makes any sense.

"Like cornered rats." One of the clones chuckles, I grit my teeth in anger at being called a rat.

"Oh, yeah? Cornered rats, are we?!" Naruto snaps and jumps at the clone, punching it in the stomach, but something strange happens.

"That's showing them. Way to go!" Sakura cheers, when Naruto's fist goes through it like liquid, as it deteriorates, something's not right with these clones. Another clone head seems to grow out from the hole left by Naruto's hit, along with a hand holding a double-edged Kunai.

"I just touched him, and he turned to mush." Naruto ponders but doesn't have much time as the second clone strikes its own other half before targeting the clueless blond.

"Naruto watch out!" Sasuke calls out to him and throws Shuriken at the arm, making it dissolve before it can strike. It turns on Sasuke as it throws the Kunai towards him.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouts, and I pull Sasuke down with me, getting scrapped on the shoulder, I hiss in pain as I push him down to the ground.

"Down!" Kabuto yells a little late.

"Sasuke! Rio!" Sakura calls out to us, but I ignore her as I hiss at the sharp pain from the slice on my left shoulder. I get up off of the Uchiha and grab my Naginata from my thigh, I want to end this now.

"Are you both alright?" Sakura asks us, and I see Kabuto pick up the Kunai that sliced my shoulder, so it's real, the pain was enough, but that means this might not be an illusion.

"Surrender your scroll…" The clones begin chanting, getting me irritated at them even more so than them hitting me.

"That fact that Rio is wounded means that these things are real Shadow Clones. But Shadow Clones are supposed to vanish when you give them a good shot these things don't. So what the heck are we dealing with? Some kind of Genjutsu?" Naruto hits the nail on the head; it has to be a Genjutsu meaning these annoying clones are fake, and the real Ninja are hiding to avoid getting destroyed. "Come and get it!" He responds to the clones that keep demanding our scroll.

"It's no use. Save it!" Sasuke orders him, and he listens surprisingly. "You'll only be fighting illusions. It's Genjutsu, alright."

"Oh, I really do hate Genjutsu." I snarl as I search the darkness, hoping to find those cowardly Ninja.

"Illusions? But how?" Sakura asks as she looks at Sasuke as he sits on the floor. "That gash on Rio's arm is real enough."

"That's very true. But still, Sasuke and Naruto are right." I respond. "The real enemy are being babies and hiding in the woods somewhere nearby. Launching real attacks from behind their safety net of illusions and coordinating their movements with them so that we're fooled into thinking that these Genjutsu Shinobi are the ones attacking us." I explain with an angry tone because I want to hit them back twice as hard when I get my hands on them.

"Well, wherever they are, what are we gonna do? Just stand here? Let's go find them and take care of them!" Naruto exclaims.

"Hold on, Naruto. They'd like us to go searching blindly through the forest while they sit back and take us out one by one. We'd be making thor job easy for them. I know those who use this kind of attack do so because they are weak in Taijutsu and afraid of close hand-to-hand combat, according to my data." Kabuto explains

"Data can be wrong, but the way they're attacking does strongly suggest they are physically weaker." I agree. "We've got no choice. All we can do is hold our ground and fend off their attacks."

"Okay, fine. Whatever. Let's just do it." Naruto agrees, and several Kunai come out from behind the clones, though it looks like the clones are throwing them, we all have to dodge from the flying Kunai.

"How long is this gonna go on?" Sakura wonders as we keep dodging.

"Okay, this isn't gonna work," Naruto comments and makes the hand sign for Shadow Clones.

"No. It's pointless. You'll only waste your Chakra. By trying to fight these things, you'll be doing just what they want." Kabuto points out, he's got a point, but maybe we can pinpoint were those cowards are.

"If we eliminate the illusions, whoever's casting them can't hurl Kunai at us without us seeing where they're hiding. Two can play at this game. **Shadow Clone Jutsu!"** Dozens upon dozens of clones appear, which run to attack the illusion clones, hitting them making them into mush, but they seem to reform even then. "Back for more, huh?" Okay." We all watch as Naruto, and his clones keep punching and attacking the other clones.

"Sasuke, shouldn't we help him?" Sakura asks.

"Jerk, he's given us no choice, we've got to, now." Sasuke replies and I have to agree.

"Well, then?" I question as I twirl my Naginata in my hand.

"You're right. He's going to need us, so that's that. We fight." Kabuto agrees, and I smirk.

"Come on, Sakura, Rio." Sasuke orders and jumps into the fight.

"Right." Sakura jumps in too, and I grin, jumping in.

"Oh yeah!" I cheer and slash through the clones as I run through and come to a halt, grin. "I've wanted to use this move for a while now." I grip Naginata tight and pull her to her full height before slashing down with such force, creating a wind slicing effect, cutting into the clones correctly causing them to turn into mush.

Our clones keep on fighting, wasting our time and the night, it soon turns morning, meaning we only have 12 hours left of the Exam and the exhaustion if beginning to take over our bodies, having stayed up all night and the day before. My clone falls to its knees, breathing heavily from all the fighting and even Naruto is tired from all the action and Shadow Clones even changing his clones to look like us, and he falls on his back. "I'm just warming up." Naruto snaps and soon the illusions begin to fade away replaced by Rain Ninja in yellow bodysuits with gas masks and cloth covering their eyes.

"Lucky us." One of them comments. "You! I know you! You're the one who cut me on the shoulder. That really messed me up, you know. Oh, well. Now I can finally pay you back. With interest." The one in the middle curses and holds up a Kunai threatening Sasuke, I grit my teeth at the nerve of these Rain Ninja, thinking they can target us like this as if we're weak and thanks to Naruto we're all ready

"Well, well. Now, who's the cornered rat?" Sasuke comments from the shadows.

"It works like a charm, Naruto." Sakura compliments him, they look over to our clones to see that our lips aren't moving except to breath and we pop out behind them, they turn to see us all standing there, perfectly fine, well as we can be.

"What? It can't be. If they're over there, then who are they?" He wonders in a panic.

"Confused? Sorry, but it was the only way to get you guys to come out of hiding." Naruto explains and releases the Transformation Jutsu, showing the four posing as us are really Naruto.

"How? Don't tell me that little brat… it's not possible." He gasps.

"The Shadow Clones were only the first part of it. My real trick was coming up with clones for the rest of my squad." Naruto explains, and the Shadow Clones disappear.

"While our doubles did the fighting and took the beating, we were safe and sound waiting for you to show yourself. What do you think, guys? I think our little plan worked." Sasuke explains, and Naruto tries taking a step, but he keels over from exhaustion from fighting all night.

"Naruto! Take a break. You've used up too much of your Chakra. Don't worry. I've got them." I tell him, and he gets to his feet, but I was pissed, and run faster slashing the three Rain Ninja in the back, when Naruto punches them, knocking them hard to the ground.

"Hey! After all that work, I wasn't gonna stand back and let you guys have all the fun." Naruto grits out and the three enemy Ninja get up from our hits and face against us.

"Not bad, but that doesn't mean it's over. We're still feeling lucky. And besides, time's running out for all of us. So we'll just have to take the gloves off and show you our Ninjutsu. **Ninja Art. Far Clone Jutsu!"** With a puff of smoke appear dozens of clones of all three of them.

"Shadow Clones?" Naruto wonders, but they don't seem like it.

"Those are real Clones," Sasuke warns him. "Don't waste your strength, bonehead. Let them make the first move."

"If those are Clones, the real ones are in there. All I gotta do is smash my through until I find the ones that squeal." Naruto argues, getting reckless.

"No, don't be an idiot. Listen to me!" Sasuke orders him, but of course, Naruto won't listen.

"Get off my back, will you?! Just stay out of it. I can handle this." He snaps and runs in.

"No, Naruto! Come back!" Sakura calls out to him, but it's too late.

"Not again," Kabuto mutters, and I look at him from the corner of my eye as I look him over, I still don't trust him, something about him just doesn't sit right with me. He jumps off into the fight with Naruto, I watch as Naruto tries punching one of the clones but goes straight through.

"So, that one's a Clone." Naruto grunts and continues attacking them, still not finding the real ones. "So, that one, too. That one, too."

"Naruto, stop!" Kabuto orders him as he jumps in the crowd of Clones, but the blond won't listen.

"Could it be they're all fake?" Sakura wonders and I think she might be right. "Or could it be Genjutsu again?" I watch the two fight among the Clones when suddenly Sasuke cries out in pain, I look over at him as he holds onto his shoulder, grimaces in discomfort, kneeling in the dirt.

"Sasuke!" Sakura calls out and looks over, I see it as well, the mark on his neck it's a burning amber, it looks angry. "The mark again." She cries out as it seems to be growing. "Sasuke, please, stop using your Sharingan. Don't do it!" She warns him, and I look over, seeing that she distracted Naruto who gives an opening to one of the Rain Village Ninja.

"Never give your enemy an opening." He warns him and tries to strike, Kabuto throws himself at Naruto, pushing themselves out of the way, but it does slice Kabuto's shin, and they land hard on the ground.

"Hey, are you okay?" Naruto asks him as he sits up next to him, seeing him hold the cut in pain. "Now you're gonna get it!"

"Forget it, Naruto!" Sasuke shouts at him, and he turns to look over at us. "You could swing at those guys all day. You're just wasting your time on them. The real ones aren't there."

"What are you talking about? That last attack didn't come from a Clone. Of course, the real ones are here. If they're not, where the heck are they?" Naruto shouts back at him.

"Use your head. If I knew the answer to that, we wouldn't be in this fix." Sasuke snaps at him, and Naruto kneels down seeming to feel the exhaustion from all the fighting.

"They've reached the end of their rope. Oh, well. It was fun while it lasted." He jumps into the air, and as Naruto and Kabuto are focused on him, the real ones come out from the earth, it happens fast, but Kabuto turns around, and the middle coward slices him across the bridge of his nose.

"Kabuto!" The others call out to him as he falls to the ground, the three Rain Ninja come fully out and look down at Kabuto before stepping away as if in fear. I jump down behind them as Naruto jumps into the air and slice their backs again, as Naruto kicks them hard in the side of the head, their heads knock together, and they fall hard on the ground. The Clones all disappear meaning that they're knocked out and we're in the clear for now at least.

"Like you said, never give your enemy an opening. Good advice." Naruto grins.

"Thank you, Naruto, Rio. you saved my neck." Kabuto thanks us as he sits, missing his glasses, and seems they fell off when he hit the ground.

"Well done, Naruto." I congratulate him as he sits on the ground.

"Oh, it was nothing." He says, and we all collect our breath and rest for a little while before we head off again.

Naruto seems to have recovered the quickest as usual and goes searching for their scroll, even though we don't need it, but better safe than sorry. "That mark on your neck… what is it?" Kabuto asks out of the blue. "A bruise?"

"It's nothing," Sasuke assures him, covering the mark, but he's already seen it.

"Hey, guys, here it is!" Naruto cheers and jumps around holding the scroll in his hand. "We've got another heaven scroll!" He lets it out, I smack him on the back of the head, smashing his face into the dirt. "Ow, what was that for, Rio!" He snaps at me as I glare down at him, making him shiver in fear.

"So, you had both scrolls before?" Kabuto questions and Naruto seems to finally understand his mistake.

"Yes, but it seemed at the time not to trust you, after all in this Exam we are enemies. I wanted to see if you would betray us." I lie, I didn't tell him the truth not entirely at least because I still don't trust him.

"I see, well should we head to the tower?" He asks, and I nod, and we begin walking, Sakura helping carry Sasuke who seems weaker than the rest of us.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

Finally, we make it to the tower with some time to spare as we walk up the steps to one of the red doors with a seal taped over the crack, Kabuto's team suddenly appear from within the trees walking towards us. "There you are, Kabuto. You're late." His teammate scolds him a little.

"Sorry about that. I got a little… sidetracked." He replies, seeming sheepish.

"Yeah, and are we glad you did!" Naruto grins like an idiot. "It was only thanks to you that we got this far."

"Not really. You did most of it on your own." Kabuto rejects the kind thanks. "Especially you, Naruto. Very impressive." He giggles to himself in glee. "Well, this is the door that we go through. So long, and good luck to us both."

"Right." We agree, and Naruto and I open the doors walking inside.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

**3rd POV:**

Kabuto and his team walk through the red doors, met with Orochimaru himself, leaning against the wall, waiting for them. "A good harvest?" The Sannin asks his disciple.

"Yes. Even better than expected. I learnt a lot about him during this second Exam, and I recorded all the data on this." He holds up one of his cards. "You want it?"

"Of course. So, tell me. What did you think?" He asks the Ninja.

"Your curiosity is truly insatiable, Lord Orochimaru." He smiles at his master.

"As a Sound Village spy, you see things others don't. Your opinion is of interest to me." The Snake Sannin replies.

"Oh, it doesn't really matter, does it? Whatever I think, you're the one who decides." The grey-haired Sound Ninja wipes across the scar on his nose, disappearing. "Isn't that always the way? Also, you wanted to know if that girl was dead, I'm afraid she is very much alive." This stuns the serpent as he looks at him and smiles feeling overjoyed that someone survived, that after 60 tries, he's succeeded.

"I am glad to hear of this news." Kabuto looks just as stunned at hearing this after all Orochimaru wanted her dead at first, but it seems he has ulterior motives. "You're a cagey one, aren't you, Kabuto?" A whirlwind surrounds Orochimaru making him disappear. "I like that." He gets the last words. "Good work."

**Chunin Exams Arc**

**Rio's POV:**

Inside the room, it's empty, with walkways on either side and a message on the wall in front. "What's the deal? There's nobody here." Naruto complains as he looks around.

"It's okay, Sakura. I can manage." Sasuke pulls away from her, who seems disappointed in the loss of touch.

"Oh, sure." Sakura signs in defeat.

"I wonder what will happen now?" I ponder as I look around the room.

"Hold on a second. Look at that." Sakura points at the message on the far wall.

"Great. What is it?" Naruto wonders.

"'If qualities of heaven are your desire, acquire wisdom to take your mind higher.'" I read aloud, it seems interesting.

"'If earthly qualities are what you lack, train your body and prepare to attack.'" Sakura reads the next part.

"'When heaven and earth are open together, the perilous path will be righteous forever. This… something… is the secret way that guides us from this place today.'" We both read together, freaking the boys out a little like when we were in the Academy.

"This what? Or is that a secret, too?" Naruto asks, not getting it.

"There's a word missing," I answer. "Anyway, it's about the scrolls. I think this time we're supposed to open them and read what's inside, now that we're in the tower." I give Sakura the heaven scroll, and Naruto has the earth scroll and peel it open.

"Okay, here goes nothing." Naruto hesitates and begins to open the scroll.

**I got another one done! Yes! I was super into it! DEADGIRLETERNAL OUT!**


	11. The Rookie 10 Together Again

**The Rookie 10 Together Again, Narrowing the Field Unleashed!**

_Chunin Exams Arc - Episode 37 - 39_

**Rio's POV:**

Naruto and Sakura peel the scrolls, open. "What? What does this mean?" Naruto asks as he looks them over, I peek over his shoulder to see what seems to be a Summoning Jutsu inside.

"A man? A person?" I try reading it when suddenly the middle of the circle puffs out smoke alarming us.

"Oh, no. This is a Summoning Jutsu. Naruto! Sakura! Quick, get rid of the scrolls!" Sasuke orders them, and they throw them to the ground, a bang alerts us to the new person in the room as the billowing cloud begins to clear and it's a complete surprise to see who greets us, I can't help the smile spreading on my face. "What, it's you?"

"Hey. long time no see, huh?" Iruka-Sensei greets us, leaving us all in surprise.

"Iruka-Sensei!" Sakura gasps in surprise.

"Looks like you've gone through a lot in this test." He comments, looking over our appearance.

"Hey, wait, what's the deal with the surprise entrance? Why are you appearing with the Summoning?" Naruto asks.

"At the end of the Second Exam, we Chunin are supposed to welcome the test takers back. Well, it was just good luck that I got to be the one given the important task of being the messenger for you guys." Iruka-Sensei explains then begins walking towards us.

"The messenger?" I repeat not getting it, tilting my head to the side, seeing him get out a pocket watch.

"And you made it just in time, too." He alerts us, glad we used Kabuto to get here faster. "And now,… congratulations! You passed the Second Exam! To celebrate your passing, I would love to treat you all to some Ichiraku ramen, but I-" He tries saying, but the word ramen got to Naruto, seeing as it's his favourite meal in the world.

"Ramen?!" Naruto exclaims in glee. "Seriously! That's so cool!" He runs at our former teacher.

"Wait! I'm not done." The brunette says as the blond hugs him.

"So cool. Believe it." Naruto beams.

"Let go. Hey, Naruto." He scolds the blond who does let go of him to cheer some more, waving his arms around.

"Oh, yeah! Ramen would be awesome! Especially after all the bugs and plants, we've had to eat for the past two days. So great! I'm going to eat every noodle ever made!" Naruto exclaims, and Sakura slides to the floor from exhaustion from the last five days. Can't blame her, I sit down next to her as we watch the boundless energetic blond, even Sasuke sits down.

"Where does he get all his energy?" He wonders, and I have to agree.

"Yeah!" Naruto cheers, jumping up and down.

"Oh, shut up!" Sakura snaps at the blond.

"Alright. Well, I can see you're still as hyperactive as ever, Naruto." Iruka-Sensei comments as he smiles fondly at the blond.

"Now, I get it. So if we opened the scrolls during the Exam… what would you have done to us, Iruka-sensei?" I ask him, finally understanding the consequences of opening the scrolls behind arriving at the tower.

"As always, Rio, you're as sharp as a tack." He compliments me as he picks up the open earth scroll, holding it up to us as he explains. "You've figured out the secret. Part of this Exam… was to test how well you could see a difficult mission all the way through. Simply put, you knew that opening the scrolls was against the rules of your mission and if you had tried to open one…"

"What? What would have happened?" Sakura asks although Kabuto had already told us, I don't think it was, I think he made it up.

"If a scroll was opened, we were ordered to knock out whoever opened it. Some Ninja found that out the hard way." He explains so it could have been all manner of ways to stop us from passing the test, they could have used a Jutsu to knock us out or their fists as long as we were down for the count by the last day.

"Ha! It's a good thing you didn't open up yours, huh, Naruto?" Sasuke snitches on the blond, making both Sakura and Naruto sweat.

"I owe you one. Thanks a million, Kabuto." Naruto prays as if it were just Kabuto, I hit his knee, causing him to fall to the ground.

"What do you just Kabuto, I warned you not to open it!" I snap at him.

"I'm sorry, Rio, thank you for trying to stop us, I owe you." He pleads as I turn away, I like the grovelling, so I turn around with a smile.

"Okay, you owe me A favour," I tell him, and he nods agreeing.

"Oh, yeah, Sensei?" Sakura asks him.

"Yeah?"

"What does that writing on the wall mean?" She asks him as she points at the message. "The parchment the letters are written on is kinda eaten away, so it's difficult to read it. We can't understand it."

"Oh, please. Look, we passed, didn't we? That stuff doesn't matter now." Naruto argues, shouting in Sakura's ear, which annoys my dear sister.

"Well, actually, explaining that is another one of the duties that I've been sent here to take care of." Iruka-Sensei quietens them.

"What, seriously?" Naruto asks, now he's not going to listen, is he?

"That's right. It's serious business. Give it a good read. They're instructions Lord Hokage recorded as principles that Chunin should follow." Sensei explains, and I guess I can see it but even still, why does Lord Hokage have to talk in riddles.

"They're instructions?" Naruto echoes.

"Yes. Heaven stands for your mind and earth for your body. 'If qualities of heaven are your desire, acquire wisdom to take your mind higher.' get it?" Of course, Naruto doesn't, shaking his head in disagreement. "Alright, I'll explain. In other words, if your weakness lies in your intellect, Naruto, then you have to make doubly sure that you work hard to learn all the information and skills that you need to prepare for your missions." He explains and Sakura giggles as he drops Naruto in it.

"Okay, I get it." He sighs not like that he was called out.

"And you, if earthly qualities you lack, train your body, prepare to attack. So if your weakness lies in your physical strength, Sakura, then you have to work on your physical conditioning every single day, so it improves all the time." He drops Sakura in it. 'When heaven and earth are open together, the perilous path will become righteous forever.' meaning, if your mind and body are working together as one, then even a very dangerous mission can become an easy one."

"But what about that spot with the missing letter?" I ask him, not understanding.

"Well, that part is meant for all of you to fill in. Do you see that symbol on the scroll?" He holds out the scroll. "It's the character for person, a reference to you Chunin. You see, these five days of survival were to test your abilities as Chunin, and to see if you'd be any good at it. And I gotta say, you guys really did magnificently! A Chunin is a leader, a guide. It's a Chunin's responsibility to be aware of the strength and weaknesses of those serving under him and to know what skills and training those Ninja are going to need in order to succeed on the mission. You did an excellent job on this mission, and I want you to remember these instructions on your next one. Well, that's it. That was everything I was supposed to say to you." He explains in great detail, and I guess I understand, but maybe I'm strong, in both body and mind, but there are always things to excel in, and at the moment my mind is clouded with what happened to Sasuke and me.

"Got it!" Naruto salutes Iruka-Sensei, who seems sad about something.

"One more thing. For the Third Exam, don't push it too far. Especially you, Naruto, are worthy-" He warns us, seems the next one is more challenging.

"Iruka-sensei. When I got this headband, I stopped being a student. So you don't have to worry about me at all, not any more. I mean, this headband has proved that I'm a full-fledged Ninja, right? You gave it to me, I may still be hyper, but I'm not a kid. Like you just said, I got through the Second Chunin Exam, and you watch, I'm gonna pass the Third one for sure!" Naruto beams, he seems dead serious as he looks at our former teacher who seems a little sad. "Right now… I'm a Ninja, too!"

"Naruto, you're right, I'm sorry about that." Iruka-Sensei apologies as if thinking about something and Naruto starts laughing, like an idiot, seeming gleeful about it. "Now, it's time to leave here for the next part." We all get to our feet and walk off to the door, but I attack Iruka-Sensei in a hug.

"Thank you, Iruka-Sensei for everything." I pull away quickly and run to catch up with the others and walk through the doors.

**Chunin Exam Arc**

**3rd POV:**

Inside the tower, in one of the many rooms. Anko sits on the blue couch in pain from the Curse Mark. Kotetsu and Izumo stand behind her and Lord Third standing in front of her near the TVs and equipment. "How is it? Does the Curse Mark still cause you pain?" Lord Third asks her as he watches her touch the mark.

"No, not really. Thanks to you, it's much better." Anko assures him and pulls her coat back over the mark.

"This Orochimaru is one of the Sannin, the legendary Three Ninja, isn't he? He's supposed to be incredibly powerful that not even the ANBU Black OPS Unit could bring him down. I'd heard a rumour that he died, but I guess that wasn't true." Kotetsu remarks.

"Why did he come to this village now, anyway?" Izumo asks, hoping the Hokage will have the answer and Anko remembers her encounter with the snake.

"That kid." She whispers, but the Hokage hears her.

"He's after Sasuke, right?" Lord Third guesses, seeing the surprise on Anko's face, he guessed right.

"What?" She gasps having thought only about it, but he was right, and they're interrupted by a voice from the TV showing live from within the tower, thanks to security cameras.

"Anko, we've confirmed that 26 Ninja have finished the Second Exam. and as for the Third Exam, according to the rules, we'll have to hold a round of preliminaries first. The first time in five years." He announces, leaving the room quiet for a moment as they process the news.

"Now, for the time being, we'll just continue with the exams as planned. But I also want to keep an eye on his movements as well." Lord Third orders the three of them.

"Yes." Anko agrees readily, and they leave the room heading down to the others.

**Chunin Exam Arc**

Down in the centre of the tower is the arena where everyone stands in front of the statue. The 8 Jonin Squad Captains stand in front of the figure with Lord Third standing nearer on the platform. On either side of the raised platform are the two proctors and six Chunin, three either side next to them. The eight teams all stand lining up facing the adults; most seem to have been through much thanks to the Exam. "First of all, congratulations on finishing the Second Exam," Anko speaks through a mic for all of them to hear in the vast indoor arena. "_There were 79 Ninja who took that Exam. Frankly, I'm surprised that even 25 passed. I knew that less than half would make it, but really thought the number would be in the single digits." _Anko smiles, pleased to see the crop being stronger than expected as she looks at the eight teams in front of her.

"I'm really hungry," Choji complains, on the far left at the end of the teams, behind Shikamaru.

"What a drag. There's so many left! His is such a pain." Shikamaru also complains, seeing the other groups.

"Sasuke and his team have passed, too." Ino cheers from the front.

"Well, of course, they did. After all the trouble we went through to keep them safe, they better have passed." Shikamaru grumbles, but glad all the same they passed.

"I see your team didn't do too bad, Kakashi. They must have gotten real lucky. Of course, with my team, it's doomed to failure. After all, what matters on the next test is ability, and we've got you far outclassed. Well, I guess a part of growing up is learning to deal with heartbreak, huh, Kakashi?" Guy spouts out and looks at his 'eternal' rival who looks at him not hearing a word he was saying.

"Huh? Did you say something?" Kakashi asks him, which upsets the green-clad Jonin.

"Alright, Kakashi, you win this round. Boy, that drives me nuts when you act so cool. There's no way I'm gonna let you get the best of me." Guy vows, but it seems Kakashi already did.

"_So that's Guy-Sensei's old rival, huh? Well, if I had to judge them on looks alone, I'd say Guy-Sensei would lose."_ Tenten thinks as she watches them from the back.

"_Guy-Sensei is just the coolest teacher ever. I mean, he is so cool, he practically glows with cool!"_ Lee praises him and feels pumped up. "You watch, Guy-Sensei. Someday I'll make you proud of me!" He vows as he thinks about what happened when he fought against those Sound Ninja. "_I do not want to see tears from anyone close to me ever again. That is why I am never going to lose again, Guy-Sensei. Never!"_

"_As expected, all the best are here."_ Neji thinks to himself as he looks around the other candidates and looks next to him on his left to see Sasuke. "_Sasuke Uchiha, huh?"_

"_I'll get you back for what you did to me, Sasuke. No matter what it takes."_ Zaku vows as he looks at the Uchiha on the other side of the line. Orochimaru disguised as a Sound Ninja Jonin Squad Captain next to Baki from the Sand; can't help but smile. Surprising Kabuto, as he follows his eyes to Rio as she stands a few people away in front of Sasuke, who is also his target.

"_I can't believe it. Only eight teams of 26 are left." _Temari huffs as she looks around at them.

"_Sure enough, not a scratch on you, Gaara."_ Baki looks at the red-head who as usual looks like he wants to kill everyone.

"_Akamaru is acting strange."_ Kurenai ponders, looking over at her team to see said-dog in his owner's jacket, shaking from the terror they witnessed.

"_Those Sand Village Ninja…"_ Kiba growls as he looks over at them, feeling Akamaru shiver in fear.

"_Rio passed, too! Thank goodness!"_ Hinata sighs in relief as she looks at her best friend standing next to her on her right.

"Hey, look! All the Leaf Village rookies are here, too." Sakura announces as she looks around the teams.

"Whoa, everybody's here! Old man Hokage, Iruka-Sensei and even Bushy Brow. it looks like absolutely nobody got left out this time!" Naruto comments as he turns around, trying to whisper.

"I don't have a very good feeling about this." Sasuke comments and Rio looks over to see him holding the mark again.

"Well, what else is new, I mean if all eight teams passed that means there are strong members in all of them. We'll be fighting against them to become Chunin." Rio remarks as she turns back around.

"_It's hard to believe that there are so many left after the Second Test. and so many of them are rookies!" _Lord Third thinks to himself and looks over at the Squad Captains of those rookies. "_So that's why they fought so hard to recommend them."_

"Alright, pay attention, Lord Hokage is going to explain the Third Exam to you. You better listen carefully, maggots." She yells at the Genin then turns to him. "Lord Hokage, they're all yours." He nods and walks to the edge of the platform, clears his throat to gain all of their undivided attention.

"First, before I tell you what the Third Exam entails, I want to explain something about the test itself. Listen closely now; it's something that all of you need to understand. I'm going to tell you the true purpose of these Exams." He tells them, everyone seems surprised at this.

"_True purpose?"_ Sakura repeats, not understanding.

"Why do you suppose our country holds these Exams in conjunction with our allies? To raise the ability levels of the Shinobi and increase friendship between allied nations to be sure, but it's important that you understand its true meaning. The Exams are, so to speak…" Lord Third continues.

"_So to speak?"_ Tenten questions, looking at her feet, and Lord Hokage takes a puff of his pipe.

"They're a representation of the battle between allied nations," he announces surprising everyone.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Tenten asks, popping out from behind Lee.

"Now, if we look at our history, all the countries that we're currently allied with were once neighbouring nations that continuously fought with each other for power. In order to avoid destroying each other's military strength meaninglessly, those nations picked champions to do battle on behalf of their countries at a neutrally selected location. That was how the Chunin selection Exams originally began." He ignores the girl and continues talking and explaining.

"Well, that's great, but why do we have to go through these Exams, then? It's not like we're doing this to pick Chunin to go fight." Naruto outbursts.

"Well, actually, there is no question that part of the point of these Exams is to select Shinobi worthy of becoming Chunin. That's just not the whole story. These Exams also allow for a place where Shinobi can carry the pride of their nation on their backs, and fight against other Ninja for their very lives." Hokage explains further.

"The pride of their nation?" Sakura whispers.

"Many leaders and people of prominence from various countries are invited to attend this Exam as guests, and also possibly to seek Shinobi to work for them. This Exam could determine the course of your Ninja work from here on out. And more importantly, those rulers will watch your battles and take note of the strengths that each Ninja and each nation is developing. If there is a gap in power between the countries. The strong nations are inundated with job requests for their Ninja. And conversely, the request to countries that are deemed weak decline. Therefore, the stronger our nation is, the better our position when it comes to negotiating with neighbouring countries. So it's important to show how much military strength our Village has."

"Okay, but even so, why is it necessary for us to risk our lives?" Kiba snaps in anger.

"The country's strength is the Village's strength. The Village's strength is the Shinobi's strength. And the true strength of the Shinobi is only achieved when it's pushed to its limits. Such as in a life-and-death battle. This Exam is a chance for each nation to display the strength of its Shinobi and hence the strength of the nation itself. It's because this is an Exam where your life is on the line that it has meaning. And it's for this very reason and for the strength of the nation that your forerunners fought in this Exam. it's truly a dream worth striving for." He continues after Kiba's outburst.

"But then why did you use the expression friendship before?" Tenten questions in shock.

"But you've only remembered half of what I said. You also mustn't have the wrong idea of the Exam's meaning. This is a custom in which balance is preserved by fighting and dying. In the world of the Shinobi, that is friendship. The Third Exam is a fight for life, with the pride of your Village and your own dreams at stake." There's a tense moment surrounding them.

"_Well, he sure convinced me."_ Naruto beams with a smile.

"Any test is fine. Just tell me what the details of the Exam are already, I can handle anything you throw at me." Gaara snarls in his monotone voice.

"Very well, then. Now listen closely. I'm going to tell you exactly what you'll all be doing on the Third Exam." He says but is interrupted by Hayate jumping in front of him, kneeling.

"Lord Hokage, before you do, please allow me, Hayate Gekko, appointed as proctor of the Third Exam, to speak first." He requests.

"So be it." He allows.

"It's nice to meet you all." He greets the Genin and coughs, one quite sickly. "There's something I would like all of you-" He coughs again. "-to do before the Third Exam." He coughs more, loudly, covering his mouth for a few moments before facing them fully. "We have to have a Preliminary Exam before we can move on to the real one." This shocks the Genin, not understanding why or what it is.

"A what?" Sakura asks.

"Preliminary? Just what do you mean by that?" Shikamaru yells.

"I'm sorry, Sensei, excuse me, but I really don't see the point. Why can't we just move on to the Third Exam?" Rio asks, raising her hand.

"Well, you see, the First and Second Exams might have been too easy. The fact is, we never expected so many of you to still be here. According to the rules of the Chunin Exams, a Preliminary Round can be held at any stage in order to reduce the number of candidates remaining." Hayate explains.

"But is that fair?" Sakura questions.

"It's just that at this stage we have to speed things up a bit. As Lord Hokage said, a lot of important guests will be watching. We can't afford to waste their time. They've come to see only the best. So if there are any of you who feel you're not in top physical condition, now's your chance to-" He coughs yet again.

"_Talk about not being in top physical condition! I'm surprised Rio hasn't offered one of her awesome herbal drinks already!" _Ino thinks as she watches him cough up a lung.

"_That proctor doesn't look so good himself!"_ Hinata gasps as everyone watches and sees Rio close her eyes, covering her ears, trying to block the coughs out as if it causes her pain.

"Sorry about that. As I was saying any of you, who don't feel up to this. Now's the time for you to bow out. The Preliminaries will be starting immediately." He announces.

"Come on! You mean, right now?" Kiba snaps in outrage.

"We just finished barely surviving the last Exam. don't we get a break?" Ino complains.

"Man, what a drag," Shikamaru says his catchphrase.

"Hey, when do we eat?" Choji asks, thinking about his stomach.

"_Well, they pulled a fast one. But I'm in, all the way, no matter what! I gave my word to Kabuto."_ Naruto boasts inside his head.

"Oh yeah, the winners will be determined by one-on-one combat sudden death. So like I said if there's anyone who doesn't feel up to it. now's the time to raise your hand." He adds on trying to shake them.

"_Does he really think anyone's gonna quit?"_ Sasuke scoffs and feels a sudden pain coming from the mark again.

"Sasuke?" Sakura questions the boy in pain, Naruto and Rio look behind them to see the Uchiha in some small amount of pain.

"_Waves of pain, they're coming sooner and sooner." _Sasuke grits his teeth in pain.

"_Oh no, I knew it."_ Sakura worries for the raven-haired boy. "Sasuke… listen to me. You have got to quit!" This shocks the others. "You've been like this ever since you tangled with Orochimaru. And it's getting worse. It's that mark he put on you, isn't it?" She asks, Naruto having been knocked out before all of that wonders what they're saying, but Rio was slightly caught up, but still, she doesn't know the full extent of what happened after she passed out from the pain. "You can't deny it, Sasuke. Please, Sasuke, quit now, before… I don't know what. I'm scared!" She wipes away the tears before they can fall.

"It's just as I feared. What do we do with him?" Ibiki questions as he watches alongside Lord Hokage and Anko.

"We take him out of the Exam, hand him over to Black Ops and let them keep him locked up. We have to keep that seal under control." Anko suggests.

"Oh, and he's just going to quietly go along with all of this, huh?" Kakashi questions from behind the three of them. "You really think so? You're forgetting; he's of the Uchiha Clan." Anko turns around in anger, seeing Kakashi seeming pleased.

"I don't care what the heck he is. If he stays, he's a danger to everyone. Don't you see, as he gets stronger, so does the Curse Mark! That thing is feeding off his Chakra. It's a Forbidden Jutsu that devours the one who bears it." Anko reasons and looks over at the Uchiha as she holds the mark same as him. "It's incredible the kid's still standing. By now, he… should be dead. Lord Hokage." She faces him, pleading for him to agree as he watches the boy.

"Come on, you know as well as I do, you're in no condition to keep fighting." Sakura keeps pleading with Sasuke.

"Shut up, Sakura." He hushes her, but she won't back down.

"You think I'm blind or something?" She snaps at him.

"Will you please be quiet?" He orders her, unaware that Rio is tightening her fist, growing angry at the way he's talking to her sister. Her baby sister.

"You think I don't see the suffering you're going through?" She keeps on.

"That's enough, Sakura." He demands.

"I'm sorry, I can't let you do it to yourself. I'm going to tell them about that mark. Then maybe you'll…" Sakura goes to raise her hand when three others pop up into the air, one Kabuto's and two others from the Rain Ninja team, who are badly injured, surprising they're still standing.

"What the-?" Kiba mutters, seeing the Ninja that raised their hands.

"Okay, you got me, I'm out," Kabuto announces with a smile.

"But… Kabuto?" Naruto mumbles.

"Us too." The two Rain Ninja announces, and Hayate looks at the clipboard in hand trying to find their names with a slight cough.

"Kabuto Yakushi of the Leaf Village, right? Toshiro of the Rain Village and Tohaku of the Rain Village, correct?" He calls out their names. "Okay, you three can go on and step back."

"Gotcha." Kabuto agrees and the twin Rain Ninja nod, helping the other walk off towards the stairs.

"Kabuto!" Naruto calls out to him. "Hold on a second, you can't quit! I don't get this, what's going on?"

"_Pathetic."_ Gaara scoffs at the blond and the three that gave up.

"Oh, Naruto, I'm sorry. But my body's just too beat up. I can't hack it. The fact is, ever since orientation and that dust-up with the Sound Village team I've had no hearing at all in my left ear. And now to have to put my life on the line, to fight again, right away without a break… I can't do it." Kabuto lies, having healed most of his injuries and has other reasons for not continuing.

"Seems to me I've seen that one before." Lord Hokage comments as he looks at the grey-haired Genin. "If memory serves, this isn't the first time he's dropped out before a battle. What kind of game is he playing?"

"Anko?" Ibiki asks her, shaking her from her thoughts.

"Oh, right." She looks through the candidates searching for him. "Kabuto Yakushi. Says here he's… failed six times in a row." She reads off after finding him, seeming surprised at this.

"What do you have on his background?" Lord Hokage demands.

"His time at the Academy was not what you'd call impressive. Average grades took him a full three tries before he passed the Graduation Exam. As far as the missions he's carried out since then, there's been two C-Ranks and 14 D-Ranks. It's not exactly a battle record to write home about. However…" She reads but stops.

"Go on." Lord Third encourages her, wanting to hear it.

"There's something before his time in the Academy." She says, surprising Lord Hokage. "Do you remember the child? The one who was found after the battle of Kikyo Pass? The only survivor?"

"I remember the story. It was said a small boy was found among the enemy dead on the battlefield. He was found barely alive and brought back by a Chunin from the Medical Unit. you're saying this is that boy?" He asks her, looking at Kabuto.

"Kabuto, what do you think you're doing, anyway? Have you forgotten Orochimaru's orders?" Yoroi questions his teammate.

"I'm leaving all that to you. What's the problem? For someone with your abilities, it should be no trouble. This is your chance to prove yourself, Yoroi. After all, you've always wanted to take my place, haven't you? Got it." Kabuto spits at him.

"You may be Orochimaru's favourite, but be careful you don't push it too far." He warns him.

"Thanks for the advice, I'll keep it in mind." He says and steps away before stopping and waving at Team 7 and walking away towards the stairs.

"_Sorry, Naruto, sorry, Sasuke. Wish I could stick around, and play a little longer. But if I did that, the old me might get stirred up. Can't have that, might blow my cover. Wouldn't be much use as a spy after that. Besides, I've already done my job. With you here looking after things, you don't need me, do you, Lord Orochimaru? Guess I'll just have to save my fun for later. Until we meet again, Sasuke. Oh, and you, too, of course, Naruto and Rio._

_I look forward to seeing what you can do, Rio."_ Kabuto thinks as he walks away, seeming more sinister than before.

"Now, then, does anybody else wanna quit?" Hayate asks the remaining 22 candidates, looking around at the lines.

"_I can't let this go on! I have to tell them!"_ Sakura panics and tries to raise her hand, but Sasuke slaps his hand on hers to stop her.

"Don't you even think of telling them about this mark," Sasuke warns her, almost making her cry but she shakes her head to force them down, seeing her sister about to cry, Rio feels her hand cracking under the strain of tightening it into a fist.

"I don't get what you're trying to prove. Am I supposed to just stand by and watch you tear yourself apart? I can't bear to watch it." She questions, not looking him in the eye.

"Then don't watch, but stay out of it." He snaps at her, making her gasp in shock at his rudeness. "This has nothing to do with you. I already told you. What I am is an avenger. For me, this is something far more than just an Exam. whether I become a Chunin or not means less than nothing to me. Am I as strong as I can be? All I want is the answer to that. I can only find out by fighting the strongest, the best." Sasuke thinks of all of the people he's met, Gaara, Neji, Lee, Dosu and even Rio, his own teammate. "And the best of the best… are all here. This is the path I walk. Not you or anyone can change that."

"Oh, Sasuke." Sakura whispers and Rio has enough, she spins around to face the Uchiha and backhands him hard across the face in anger. The sound of the smack echoes through the arena. Shocking everyone who watches on as the usually bubbly and kind pinkette stands over the Uchiha who fell to the ground on his back. She glares down at the Uchiha in rage as he looks up at her in shock too, the adults all wonder what happened among the team, and the other teams all seem in shock.

"Don't speak to Sakura that way, you good for nothing Uchiha, she's only looking out for you, because she sees you in pain!" Rio snaps at him, she looks at Sakura who seems surprised at her big sister. "She cares about you so much, and you throw it back in her face. Ever since you woke up, you've been a different person, and it's getting on my nerves, I understand wanting to be stronger, that's what all of us want, it's nothing special. Get your act together Sasuke before I beat some sense into you." She threatens him with narrow eyes. "Sakura, let him fight, if he dies it'll be his fault."

"Naruto, Rio," Sasuke calls out to them as the two of them look back at him, neither happy with the raven-haired tween. "You're one of the ones I wanna fight the most." The blond and pinkette look at the Uchiha in surprise.

"I'm still concerned about what Orochimaru said. Allow the boy to continue with the Exam for now, and we'll see what happens." Lord Hokage orders but Anko tries to reason with him.

"But, Lord Hokage…" But he ignores her and continues.

"However, at the first sign of the Curse Mark growing or his power getting out of control, you will step in and stop it."

"Right." Ibiki agrees.

"But…" Anko tries but sees it's a lost cause and silences. "As you wish. What about the girl he talked about?" She asks, and looks over at the team, she didn't know which one he meant as there are two girls, but still, they were both alive, so maybe he was wrong about what happened. Both girls looked like they had been through a rough test, unless she had survived meaning there was another one, with that special Kekkei Genkai.

"Alright, then. We'll now begin the Preliminary Round. This round will consist of one-on-one individual combat at full battle intensity. This is not an exercise. There are 22 of you remaining, so that means we will need 11 matches. The surviving candidates from these eleven mates will advance to the Third Exam. as for the rules, there are none. You'll fight until one dies or concedes defeat or is rendered physically incapable of continuing the contest. Naturally, those who are losing are urged to concede defeat promptly to avoid a fatal outcome.

Furthermore, as Proctor, I'm given a certain amount of leeway in judging the matches." Hayate explains and stops to cough again. "I might occasionally intervene if a match seems hopeless, to save as many lives as possible. Now it's time to reveal what fate has been chosen for you." He looks over his shoulder at Anko who nods and talks into her mic.

"Open the panel." She orders and in the far corner on the left side of the statue, a stone pale purple panel slides up, revealing a dark greenish almost black screen.

"The names of each pair of opponents are chosen completely at random. Before each match, these names will appear on the display behind me. As there's nothing more to say, let's begin. In a moment, the names of the first two opponents will appear." Hayate announces, and everyone watches the screen light up with a flash of yellow, and all of the names of the candidates flash in random sequences and soon abruptly stops on 'Yoroi Akado vs Sasuke Uchiha'.

"_Didn't waste any time, did they?"_ Sasuke smirks to himself, glad he's first, but another shot of pain comes from the mark.

"_I couldn't ask for anything more."_ Yoroi thinks to himself, pleased at the outcome.

"_No! Why did it have to be Sasuke?"_ Sakura panics and some others feel disappointed in the outcome, hoping to fight the Uchiha.

"Alright now. Those whose names have been drawn, come forward." Hayate orders and the two walk out from the group of Genin. "You have been chosen for the first match. Yoroi Akado and Sasuke Uchiha. Are there any objections?" He asks the two opponents.

"None here."

"No." They both answer.

"_Well, that's it. All I can do now is watch." _Sakura thinks to herself and feels her sister take her hand, squeezing it in comfort.

"_You better win, Sasuke, if you ever hope to take me on."_ Naruto thinks as he narrows his eyes at the Uchiha in front of him, wanting to fight him too.

"_Something's wrong. He's acting strangely. And Rio slapped him hard you can see the imprint of his cheek._" Ino worries for him. "_Why did she slap him anyway?"_

"_Could it be the Curse Mark?"_ Dosu wonders as he watches the boy closely.

"_Sasuke, good luck!"_ Lee wishes and clenches his fist, wanting to fight the Uchiha.

"_Now we just sit back and see what happens."_ Neji thinks, rather obviously.

The pain from the Curse Mark hits Sasuke again, making him cringe in pain. "_The pain won't go away."_

"_That Curse Mark giving you trouble?"_ Yoroi teases him, but of course, the boy can't hear him.

"Alright, then. Let's begin the first match." Hayate announces and coughs into his hand. "Okay, everyone other than the two opposing candidates will now clear the area and move to the upper level." Everyone but Team 7 and Yoroi move, Kakashi walks towards his team needing to speak with them.

"Kakashi-Sensei!" Naruto cheers once spotting the gravity-defying haired Ninja.

"Sasuke." He says in a quiet tone. "Don't use your Sharingan." He warns the boy who seems surprised by the order.

"So you know about it," Sasuke remarks, brushing it off.

"If that mark on your neck gets out of control, your life could be in danger," Kakashi warns him.

"I'm aware of that."

"Just to let you know, if it gets to that point, I'll have to step in and stop the fight. Good luck."He leaves with that.

"_Stop the fight?"_ Sasuke thinks in shock as if that's the main problem and Rio slaps Sasuke on the mark with her cream, he cringes in pain again but not from the mark, the cream is hot to the touch.

"This should help with the pain, it's a numbing cream. Give it a few minutes." Rio tells him and walks off, leaving the area going up the stairs on the left with the rest of her team.

"_This thing, it seems to be responding to my Chakra. Every time I use my Chakra, this thing gets a little stronger. It gains a little more control over me. I've got to fight him without using my Sharingan. And even my own Jutsu is off-limits. Maybe I can make him laugh himself to death. Whatever. Let's get on with this."_ Sasuke thinks to himself with a grin as he looks over at Yoroi.

**Rio's POV:**

I sit down on the top of the railing next to Naruto with Sakura behind me, both worrying over Sasuke, I can see the confidence on his smug face, he can't use any of his Chakra, or that mark will grow so he'll only be able to use Taijutsu. Sakura hugs around my waist like she does when she's worried or scared, and I place my hands over hers to try taking her worry. "Then, if you're ready, let the match begin." Proctor Hayate announces and Yoroi crouches, but I can't see what he's doing, Sasuke also crouches a little ready for the fight. Yoroi gets out Shuriken and throws them at Sasuke who got out a Kunai, he throws the Kunai at his opponent trying to stop the Shuriken and seems to lose his footing due to pain. My cream doesn't seem to work on this mark, too bad.

Sasuke falls down, and Yoroi dodges out of the way of the Kunai and disappears, Sasuke tries looking for him, but he appears next to him, Sasuke luckily gets out of the way before Yoroi can punch him into the ground. He uses a Kunai to keep him close, kicking his opponent in the shin and back of the knee causing him to fall to the floor. Sasuke wraps his legs around Yoroi's leg who places his arm on Sasuke's chest and holds onto it. "Hey, he got him!" Naruto cheers with a big grin, Yoroi, twists his hand around to hold onto Sasuke's top and does something that seems to shake Sasuke, freeing himself and smacking the Uchiha in the chest, probably winding him as the masked guy jumps away. Sasuke doesn't move even when Yoroi runs towards him, he just lies there, unmoving.

"Oh, Sasuke! No!" Sakura cries out, in my ear, I cringe at the loudness of her voice as we watch Yoroi grab Sasuke's head which makes him shout in pain, he falls on his back again and seems to be growing weaker the more time Yoroi holds onto him. He must be taking his Chakra! Sasuke keeps shouting in pain but seems to muster up the strength and kicks Yoroi away from him, causing him to go flying, landing on his back in front of us, he gets back up and runs at Sasuke, with his hand outstretched trying to grab at Sasuke again. Sasuke dodges out of the way, even moves fast enough to end up behind the other Leaf Genin, he spins to kick the guy, but he jumps away, Sasuke seems worn out already.

"Hey, Sasuke!" Naruto shouts down at him in anger. "Come on, man, what was that? And you call yourself an Uchiha?" This seems to catch Sasuke's attention as he looks over at us. "You're gonna let this goon walk all over you! Come on, stop messing around and get into gear!" This seems to help the Uchiha as he turns around as Yoroi runs at him in anger having his back to him, and Sasuke dodges every chance to grab him and disappears for a second, just like Lee! He appears underneath Yoroi, kicking him into the air, Sasuke crouches on all fours, thrusting himself into the air also, emerging behind Yoroi, they both hover for a while, Sasuke yells in pain again, even spits out blood. It must have grown more intense, and I can just make out the hot amber of the Curse Mark as it extends from his neck to over his face. The mark seems to recede, meaning he can control it and he spins on his side and spins Yoroi around to kick him in the side, but the pain blocks it, though Sasuke just moves over to his other side and uses his arm to smack into his throat. Guess the ass can't breathe now and looks like he's going to hit first, but Sasuke hits him again moving him back then kicks him in the stomach as they land. Knock out! Sasuke skids away from the force, and the Chunin walks over to the unconscious Yoroi.

"Well, this one's had it." He announces, and we all look at the Uchiha as he gets up a little, and wipes away the blood from the corner of his mouth. "I'm declaring this match over. As the winner of this Preliminary Round, Sasuke Uchiha advances to the finals."

"Way to go!" Naruto shouts down at him, I smile a little, glad for him, I guess. Sasuke seems to be breathing heavily and sits down but almost falls back, Kakashi-sensei catches him, he pops up reading that damn book, trying to act all cool. "You okay? Hey, Sasuke! You won, but in such an uncool way, you came out looking like you're the one who got bear up!" Naruto can't help laughing, I giggle in agreement.

"Idiot. Gimme a break, you little… oh well." He gives up, and the Medics come onto the scene, putting the unconscious Yoroi onto a stretcher and taking him away, another one goes over to Sasuke and Kakashi, but our Sensei just waves him off. Kakashi-Sensei and Sasuke seem to argue before Sensei wins and they leave, probably to sort out that mark.

"Hey, Sakura, Rio! Maybe I'm just crazy, but did you see any weird marks on Sasuke's neck during the fight?" Naruto asks us, guess he saw it, but we promised not to tell the blond.

"What mark? I didn't see it." Sakura lies and I shake my head, I don't like lying to him, but Sasuke's right, Naruto shouldn't have to worry about it for now at least.

"Oh, okay." He accepts the lies.

"Okay, then. Let's move right on to the second match." The sick Proctor announces, and we all turn to watch the screen light up and the display quickly the names of everyone, for a tense moment we all watch, till it lands on Shino and that cocky Sound Ninja. Zaku! I hope Shino beats him badly for what he did to my sister. "Step forward, please." They quickly walk from both sides and stand in front of Hayate, Zaku's arms are both bandaged, and in slings, I'm surprised he didn't back out. "Very good. Now, if you're both ready, then we'll begin." They exchange words before Zaku crouches, taking out his left arm, and runs towards Shino, going to hit him in the side of the head but he blocks it. Zaku uses some Jutsu and a loud what seems to be an explosion, right next to Shino's head, causing him to fall and roll away with smoke to cloud the area. I watch in shock, Shino is strong, I hope he can beat this guy.

**Chunin Exam Arc**

**3rd POV:**

Inside the Sealing Chamber, Sasuke lies unconscious from Kakashi having sealed the curse mark, Orchoimaru makes himself known as he walks out from behind the pillar "my, how you've grown." Kakashi recognises the voice instantly, feeling himself still. "To think you've become strong enough to perform the Curse-Sealing Jutsu."

"You…" Kakashi growls as he looks behind him over his shoulder at the Sannin, changing back to his original face.

"Long time no see, Kakashi." He greets the Copy Cat Ninja.

"Orochimaru."

**BOOM! Another one! And in a day! Yes! Awesome! Hope you like, I know Rio isn't much in it but still! DEADGIRLETERNAL OUT!**


	12. Ultimate Battle For Top Dog!

**Ultimate Battle For Top Dog! Killer Kunoichi Get Serious and Bold! Face to Face with the Secret Weapon!**

_Chunin Exam Arc - Episode 40 - 47_

**Rio's POV:**

The dust seems to grow after Zaku's attack, making it hard to see but starts settling and Shino is standing, I sigh, glad that he's okay, I watch as bugs come out from his coat, that always creeps me out, I'm happy he doesn't use them against me. A swarm of his bugs, I think he said they're beetles that feed on Chakra, hope they suck that cocky Sound Ninja dry! The multitude closes in on Zaku from behind, meaning he's in a corner, and Shino begins explaining and telling him of his options. Zaku glares at the bug boy and raises his hand at Shino, idiot. I watch in shock as he moves his other arm, I thought it was severely broken because of Sasuke! I guess not; he seems to struggle to open his hand, the muscles in his arms must be badly damaged though. He opens his hand with a struggle, he gives out a yell and shouts before trying to use his Jutsu he's so fond of, it seems to backfire as Shino had but some beetles in the air holes, blocking them and the air had to come out somehow. Shino speeds over next to Zaku as he yells in pain and hits him in the face, knocking him back onto the floor.

Hayate crouches down to check over the groaning Sound Ninja and stands back up. "I'd say this one has had it. The winner is Shino Aburame." He announces, and there's a moment of shock from the others who don't know about Shion's abilities, and he walks off back to his team. The Medics arrive to cart the unconscious Zaku away; I look at his arms to see that they almost look ripped apart from the force of his air pressure.

"Man, that Shino is good! Who would've thunk it with him being so quiet?! I can't wait to get my shot at him!" Naruto exclaims, wanting a piece of the action.

"Whoa! I thought Shino was weird before but now…" Sakura gasps and I turn around to look at her.

"Did you know the fear of insects is called entomophobia. Shino isn't weird; his body is host to those insects, I think it's kind of interesting how he uses them. I wouldn't like getting in a fight with him." I comment with a smile, she returns it, and I turn back around.

"Er, alright, everyone, moving right on to the third match," Hayate announces, and I hear a puff of smoke from behind me.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto exclaims, and I turn around to see that Kakashi-sensei has arrived in time, not missing any of our matches yet to come.

"Hi," He greets us, which doesn't sit well with my worried sister.

"What do you mean, 'Hi'? Is that all you can say? What about Sasuke? How is he?" She asks him.

"Oh, he's fine, sleeping soundly in the infirmary." He tells her, which seems to settle her nerves, and the next names have been announced, it's the last member of Kabuto's team and the cat boy from before, the one who picked on Konohamaru. They both calmly walk down, meeting in the middle of the arena, and exchange words, Kankuro pulls on the bandages holding the Puppet from his shoulder, letting it fall to the ground but keeps a hold of it.

"Alright, then, if you're ready, let the third match begin." The Proctor announces, and Misumi runs towards Kankuro, going to hit him but he blocks the hit, which seems to be a bad idea as the Leaf Ninja's limbs seem to become limber and stretch around Kankuro, stopping him from moving. He drops the Puppet out of reach.

"Whoa! What's up with that guy's body? That's freaky. I wish I could do that." Naruto, of course, wants to as we all watch the match, Misumi starts explaining his Jutsu, it seems complicated, and freaky.

"With just his Chakra?" Sakura whispers as she leans against the railing next to me. "Whoa…" We listen to them chatting and warning each other about who's going to die when Misumi snaps Kankuro's neck, loud enough to hear, but it almost sounds different somehow.

"I think he broke… his neck." Lee gasps but I see something in the body.

"I don't think so," I comment and as I say this something seems to fall off, looks like paint chips, he used his Puppet to swap himself into a safe place. The head spins around to face Misumi, alerting him to the fact it's a puppet and spooking him a little, an arm rips out of the back and wraps around the Ninja, squeezing him tight. Kankuro unwraps himself from the bandages his Puppet once inhabited and moves the Puppet with the strings of Chakra coming from his hand.

"Cool, he's controlling it with the Chakra strings from his hand." I smile as I watch him tighten the grip around Misumi.

"Enough! I give!" Misumi gives up, and Kankuro remarks something to him about being more flexible with broken bones and Misumi and the puppet fall to the floor.

"Because his opponent is unable to continue, the winner is Kankuro," Hayate announces, and as more Medics arrive, it seems the infirmary will be busy.

"Two against one is hitting below the belt, isn't it?" Naruto asks Sensei. "I mean, is that thing even fair, Kakashi-sensei?"

"It's not really two against one. It's a Puppet, not another Ninja." He answers him.

"Yeah, it's just the Puppet Master Jutsu. He's controlling the Puppet with Chakra. It's a Ninja tool like a Shuriken." Sakura explains and then excuses herself, I look around seeing the other teams, all of them look strong, but I know I'll do my best to beat them. Sakura finally makes it back after the little break and just in time.

"Now let's continue. It's time to begin the fourth battle." Hayate announces, and the board randomises the remaining names quickly.

"No matter who's picked, it'll be two weirdos! This contest is chock full of 'em!" Naruto comments.

"Well, you're one to talk," Kakashi-sensei comments back at him.

"Yeah, good point." Sakura comments and I shake my head at them.

"Hey! Give me a break!" Naruto protests.

"I think we're all a little weird; otherwise we'd all be pretty boring," I remark and Sakura giggles, but Sensei crouches down to her and points at the board.

"This isn't a time for laughter." He tells her, and I follow his gaze to see both Ino and Saura's names on the board. I look at Sakura in worry, I don't know if either of them can win in this fight, they may have a messy past, but still, I don't think I can watch them fight.

"Go, Sakura! You can do it! Don't lose!" Naruto cheers for her and Hayate announces the beginning and, Sakura and Ino begin to fight, hitting and dodging each other's attacks.

"Oh. no… I knew it." Choji complains from my right, and he's not wrong they're pulling their punches so to speak.

"Sakura's totally blowing Ino out of the water in this battle!" Naruto exclaims not seeing it.

"What a fool." Shika scoffs at his naivety.

"What did you say to me?" Naruto growls at him.

"You wanna make something of it, then. Go ahead, cos you'll lose." Shika warns the blond.

"Who do you think you are?" The blond growls at him.

"That's it? That's as good as Kunoichi can get at hand-to-hand combat?" I hear Neji complain from my left.

"Idiot," I mutter, and Naruto turns on him in anger.

"It's not because they're girls, Neji. It's just that those two are using kid gloves. It doesn't matter if you're a man or woman in battle." Tenten explains which confuses Naruto a little and I watch the girl as they exchange blows, dodging each other, when Ino punches Sakura in the stomach, stunning my sister but Ino instead of knocking her out she seems to hesitate and slaps her. I tilt my head to the side in confusion as I look at them and even Ino seems surprised by her action as she looks at her hand, but Sakura seems to snap her out of it, and they start insulting each other like usual.

"Did you hear that stuff? Sakura was so mean," Naruto gulps at my sister, and I hold back a laugh."That's so out of line, isn't it? She sure made Ino mad. I've never seen her look so scary."

"Yes, but there's more to it than that," Sensei explains. "Sakura isn't the kind of person to needlessly flaunt her own power and callously hurt people. But she also doesn't like Ino taking pity on her and pulling her punches."

"True, ever since Sakura told Ino that she also liked Sasuke they've always been competing against each other, but before that, they were friends. Ino always stuck up for Sakura when I couldn't," I explain and look at Naruto who seems surprised to learn they were friends even though we've been in the same class since the beginning. Still, I suppose with them always at each other's throat, it's hard to see. Sakura unties her headband, and for a tense moment as they look at each other, the tension keeps getting thicker the more they look at each other.

"What in the world is going on?" Naruto asks as he watches.

"What do you mean?" Kakashi-sensei asks him.

"Why are those two getting so worked up just looking at each other?" He asks, dummy, he's precisely the same way with Sasuke. I giggle at him getting him annoyed. "What's so funny?!"

"Well, Naruto, rivalry is a tricky business. Not that I would know." Sensei tells him and looks over at Guy-Sensei who notices him looking his way and chuckles awkwardly. "Oh. Hi, there." He waves at the green-clad Jonin who seems none the wiser. I giggle at Kakashi-sensei who looks over at me and sighs. "Please, Rio, don't grow a rivalry with anyone please." He requests, and I nod.

"Of course, Sensei." I smile, tilting my head and continue watching my sister and friend, and they stare at each other but both take their headbands off and put them on probably over their foreheads and punch, meeting in the middle. The punches repel each other, with force. Guess my sister is as strong as I thought and even Ino is strong, they seem evenly matched for now. The girls run at each other; Sakura performs a Clone Jutsu to confuse Ino as she runs at her, the three Sakura's run at Ino and the two fakes disappear before landing a hit on Ino, but the real Sakura punches INo hard, making her fly and roll.

"You're doing awesome, Sakura, awesome!" Naruto cheers from the sidelines. "Believe it!"

"Powerful strikes using Chakra. Top-notch, considering she's a rookie. I've never seen Sakura this good." Kakashi-sensei gapes at my sister, and I can't help the proud grin on my face.

"Hold on; you're not saying she's better than me?" Naruto asks him.

"No, you're the greatest." He lies, I turn around with a glare.

"Hey!" I snap, and Sensei shakes his head.

"Sending Chakra all throughout her body and using it in conjunction with a well-timed Jutsu? I don't even think that Sasuke could have done it better. Well, even from the start of her training, she was extremely good at Chakra control with Rio. so this isn't a surprise." He continues, and I watch the girls continue to strike and block, this is going to be a long match.

It's been over ten minutes since this match began, so far the longest in history, I watch as they punch each other, at the same time, sending the other across the arena. Sakura starts baiting Ino who seems to fall into it as she suddenly cuts her hair. I watch in shock at this, Ino is super proud of her long hair and to cut it off in anger seems fishy. Ino throws her once long ponytail remains at Sakura's feet, scattering between them, she's up to something, Ino must have a game plan unless she's lost it. "And I thought she looked scary before." Naruto gulps at the blond female, and I watch Ino start performing her Mind Transfer Jutsu. For a moment there seems to be a tense pause as they talk, even her teammates are shocked and her Sensei, Sakura can easily dodge the Jutsu meaning Ino would lose. Somethings not right, Ino is smarter than this, why is she doing something so reckless. It seems Ino pulls off the Jutsu for a second, but it's Sakura alright, as Ino falls to her knees and Sakura tries to move, but I was right, Ino used her hair to rope her Chakra to Sakura, meaning she can't move.

"Now, I see," Sensei mutters.

"You've got to get out of there now!" Naruto shouts but it's too late. Ino performs the Jutsu and seems to have taken over Sakura's body this time.

"Sakura has been…" Lee mutters in worry for her.

"Nice one, Sakura." Naruto beams but he's wrong it's Ino. "I don't get it, what's with Ino? And with Sakura? I mean, Sakura's acting really strange, don't you think? This is her chance."

"Naruto, don't be an idiot, that's Ino, she's taken over Sakura's body," I explain and he seems surprised, I guess he didn't pay attention in class about this. "Ino used the Mind Transfer Jutsu."

"The Mind Transfer? Does that mean that… that Sakura has…" Lee whispers, getting it.

"Yes, I'm afraid so. Sakura's spirit has been completely taken over by Ino. Ino's spirit is inside of Sakura now. Well, I'm guessing that Ino's goal is probably…" Sensei explains to the boys, and I watch as Ino-Sakura raises her hand, Ino's going to make Sakura give up.

"Now, I, Sakura Haruno, would like to say that I with-" She begins to say but is cut off by Naruto shouting out.

"NO! Sakura, don't! You worked so hard to get here, Sakura! Don't disgrace yourself now by losing to that lame Ino girl!" Naruto shouts, and it seems it hits home for the girl as Ino appears to be struggling with keeping Sakura in check as she fights her inside her head and refuses to withdraw.

"That's my stubborn sister." I grin as I watch them and Ino releases her Jutsu. They seem to have used us most of their Chakra and are going to have to fight with brute force, and I watch them get to their feet and run at each other, they swing, hitting each other at precisely the same time, knocking each other out. It seems neither of them won.

"Since neither combatant is able to continue, by double knock-out, no one gets through the fourth battle of this Preliminary. This match is over."

"I guess it was fate.'' I giggle as I look at the girls lying on the arena floor, unconscious, even though they tried so hard, they both couldn't pass each other.

"What?"

"This can't be."

"No way!" The others protest as Kakashi-sensei, and Ino's squad captain pick up the girls carefully and place them with us up on the balconies, I rush to Sakura's side as I look her over, she seems okay, a little banged up, but otherwise, she's okay.

"Sakura, no!"

"Sakura, wake up! Are you okay?!" Lee and Naruto yell at her, but I push them away.

"Let her sleep, you morons." I snap at them as I move a strand of her hair back.

"I don't think treatment will be necessary. They'll probably just wake up after a little while. But they both certainly put up a great fight." Squad 10's captain comments and I look at my sister with a smile at how well she did against Ino and vice versa.

"Yeah." Sensei agrees, and the next match is about to begin as the board lights up before speeding through the names, I quickly sit back on the railing watching it lands on Tenten from Guy's team and Temari from the Sand Village. More girls against each other, mean, pitting us against each other. There are only seven girls out of the whole 22 candidates if it's only boys that make it through to the finals I will so protest this to the Hokage! What am I talking about, I'm going to make it, I will beat whoever I have to in these Preliminaries to make it to the final round.

Tenten and Temari walk to the bottom of the stairs and meet in front of Hayate, both seem confident, seeing as they've been Genin longer, I guess that helps. "Go, Tenten, alright!" Lee cheers for his teammate before the fight even begins. "Come on, Tenten! Use the power of youth!"

"That's it, Lee! Let's hear that support. You can do it, Tenten!" Guy-sensei joins in,

"Take her down, Tenten!" Lee continues to cheer for her, and I hear no and Saura yelling at each other, seems they're awake.

"For the fifth match, Tenten, Temari, get ready," Hayate announces, and the girls step a little closer, seeming to size the other up, thinking up battle strategies. "Begin." Temari appears to look at Tenten who then backs away, giving her a reasonable distance.

"Alright, Tenten! Keep her guessing!" Lee keeps cheering her on even though she hasn't done anything yet.

"Go for it! You've got the power of youth!" Guy-sensei joins in again.

"Come on, Tenten! Send her back to her village on a stretcher! We're behind you all the way! Tenten!"

"Let's hear it! Two, four, six, eight, who do we appreciate? Tenten!" The green-clad twins keep yelling right next to us, Naruto covers his ears, and I plug mine with my fingers, but I can still hear them.

"How did I get stuck in the cheering section?" Naruto complains, but still, the girls haven't moved, both waiting for the other to make the first move.

"What are you waiting for? I did say to begin." Hayate tells him, and Temari explains the situation as she takes a step forward and Tenten takes one back. Temari baits Tenten in making the first move, she jumps into the air and throws Shuriken at Temari who quickly blocks it, and the Shuriken imbed in the floor.

"What is going on? It is incredible!" Lee gapes at the scene in front of us.

"It's impossible. Tenten's aim is perfect! She always hits her mark." Guy-sensei remarks.

"Not this time, she didn't" Neji rejects his remark.

"She never misses. There must have been something that made her miss." Guy-sensei comments, he's right but unfortunately, unless Tenten can get around Temari's block, then the Leaf Village Kunoichi is in trouble.

"Man, this is embarrassing," Shika comments as he leans on the railings next to me. "The Sand Village wins again."

"What are you talking about? The match just started!" Naruto exclaims from my other side.

"It's over, Naruto," I tell him, and he huffs not getting it and grumbles under his breath. "Just watch closely."

"It's obvious like she said. This one's over." Choji agrees.

"No, I don't get it. I really don't understand these guys at all." Naruto grumbles and we watch as the girls stand staring at each other again, Temari touches the massive fan on her back. Tenten starts running around in a circle before going back to her original spot and jumps above, she turns, so she's upside down, twirling and gets out a scroll, must have weapons inside as she spins around, opening the scroll. Tenten spins faster, and it becomes almost impossible to see her as she throws multiple weapons at Temari, all types of t but Temari uses her fan to stop them, seems to be a Wind Style Jutsu. I look as she mentions the purple moon once Tenten lands and sees she's opened the fan slightly and Lee begins shouting encouragement at her again, but she's already lost the match.

"Tenten! Do not play your opponent's game! Maintain focus! Maintain focus!" I watch as she gets out two scrolls from her weapon pouch which shocks the green twins as they watch, I narrow my eyes as I watch her closely.

"She's using that already?" Guy-sensei seems surprised as he watches, seems important.

"What's with the two scrolls?" Naruto asks the younger twin. "What's she planning on doing with them?" Tenten places them on either side of her before performing hand signs quickly.

"**Rising Twin Dragons!"** With that said a massive cloud of smoke spreads throughout the arena floor, covering the whole area, making it difficult to see, suddenly two twin dragons rise from the smoke, twirling around each other, and the smoke fades. The dragons turn out to be the scrolls, Tenten jumps up to the two and the scrolls that opened up as they rise and she throws more weapons at Temari down below. Temari shouts as she swings her fan, unleashing a strong wind, stopping the tools from getting any closer and they all fall to the ground. Tenten lands again but jumps springing a little, so she's hovering in the air facing Temari headfirst and seems to be controlling the weapons with wires attached to her fingers. Temari opens her fan all of the way and swings again before Tenten can land a hit like throughout the whole battle. Tenten is sent flying along with her weapons and crashes to the floor. The brunette gets to her feet, but the dirty blond uses her fan to conceal herself then she and the fan disappear. Temair appears on the other side of the arena behind Tenten, she calls out to her and comes floating down back to her original place, her fan closes, but she opens it again, holding it with both hands as she swings it.

"**Wind Scythe Jutsu!"** Temari sends a powerful wind cyclone at the brunette, lifting her into the air, cutting her in different spots, leaving Tenten defenceless.

"Tenten!" Lee calls out to his teammate.

"Temari's Chakra is controlling the vortex," Neji announces, I look at it and look closely, I see what he means, Tenten slides out of the whirlwind and lands on top of Temari's steel closed fan hard enough for her to cough out blood as her back makes contact.

"Whoa! That girl's really ruthless." Naruto comments, I nod in agreement, seeing the dirty blond smirking.

"Oh, Tenten." Lee whispers.

"To be able to stop every one of Tenten's attacks like that," Guy-sensei mutters.

"I still cannot believe it."

"It was impressive, alright. Scary." Naruto agrees.

"Yeah, it's another win for the Sand Village, just like you said it would be." Choji comments.

"Of course. That's why I said it." Shika remarks.

"The winner of the fifth match, Temari," Hayate announces and Lee shouts out and jumps into the arena just as Temari throws the unconscious Tenten from the top of her fan, Lee catches her in time.

"Hey, nice catch," Temari comments with an evil smirk.

"What is wrong with you? She may have lost, but that is no way to treat an opponent who did her best!" Lee snaps at her, and she raises her fan, then slams it down, with a clank.

"Oh, beat it! And take that sack of garbage with you." She disrespects both of them, and Lee runs at her much to Neji's protest, but he doesn't listen as he goes to kick her, though she blocks it with her steel fan.

"Not even close. You know what? You're as dumb as you look." She remarks, making him angrier.

"Lee, stop!" Guy-sensei orders him, and he turns to see him appear behind him.

"But Guy-sensei…" Lee tries to argue.

"Temari, forget them. The match is over, so get up here." Gaara orders her. "You won, why are you wasting your time with that pathetic loser and his ridiculous mentor?" He hits below the belt for Lee.

"What?" Lee grits his teeth as he looks over at the red-head.

"Just calm down, Lee." His mentor orders him, placing a calming hand on his shoulder. "A word of warning. You Sand Villagers have no idea what Lee is capable of. So remember, he still hasn't fought yet, so I'd be careful if I were you."

"Don't worry, Naruto, I'm sure you could take them," Sakura tells him as she joins us again.

"Sakura? What you're alright, I never thought you'd be back so soon." Naruto sputters out.

"I'm fine. But never mind me, it's you you should be thinking about." She tells him, and she's right.

"Huh, me? I don't have any injuries. I haven't even fought yet!" Naruto exclaims as he checks himself over.

"What I meant was you don't want to disgrace yourself after you worked so hard to get here, think of what Sasuke will say." She tells him and yeah that pain will say something snarky if Naruto or even I don't make it to the final test.

"Oh, right." He agrees, and I nod.

"Stay sharp. Oh, thanks, by the way." She says, with a smile. "If you hadn't called out when you did, who knows what would've happened? If it hadn't been for you, I might not still be here."

"Yeah, that's probably true." He agrees, annoying my sister.

"Oh, yo little…!" She snaps, stopping herself from hitting the blond and the board begins picking the next match.

"Here we go! Please let it be me!" Naruto cheers.

"No, it's my turn! My turn!" Lee pleads, and it stops on Shikamaru and Kin. I laugh as Shika walks past and down to the arena, he looks so annoyed at fighting a girl.

"Shikamaru, come on! You can do it! You can win this no problem!" Choji and Ino, mostly her cheer for the boy.

"All you gotta do is tell yourself, 'I cannot lose!' right?!" Ino goes strong, she seems cheerier than usual. "Yeah! Okay! Here we go, Shikamaru! Make that little girl cry!" She keeps going, I guess it's a little personal from the Second Exam.

"Ready? The sixth match, Shikamaru Nara and Kin. begin." Hayate announces, and Shika goes straight into his Shadow Possession Jutsu which she easily dodges, throwing Senbon Needles with bells on the end? Shika dodges into a crouch to avoid them and looks behind him at the Senbon for a second before getting back up, she throws more at him once he sees through her plan, and I hear the soft jingle of the bells behind him. I look closer to see her using a thread that's attached to the bells, making them jingle, Shika makes the mistake of turning away from her, and she uses that to strike him in the shoulder sending him back.

"Shikamaru!" Ino cries out.

"Shika?" I tilt my head to the side, and it seems he might still win.

"Well, that didn't take long." Naruto sighs in defeat.

"Hold on. Don't be so sure. He's not beaten yet." Sakura assures him, and we watch him take out the Senbon from his arm, a few inches higher would have been fatal for him. Kin jingles the bells again, and Shika falls to his knees, seems to be effecting Shika, as he tries covering his ears, but stops as she throws three Senbon at him, into his shoulder. Guess he finally connected their shadows, as she struggles to keep a hold of the Senbon in her hand, trying to threaten Shika again, ha! Shika must have used the thread to connect their shadows, and he gets to his feet, as the shadow from the line deforms and shows that their shadows are now fully connected, he lifts his arm up showing he's in control as Kin stiffening does the same. Shika and Kin get out a Shuriken and throw it at each other, Shika leans back along with Kin, who is way too close to the wall and hits her head, knocking herself out. Shika flips back onto his feet with a smirk, I laugh as I watch on, guess we have a winner.

"The wise Shinobi carefully scouts the physical layout of the battlefield and never loses sight of his position on it. That was her problem. I made sure she was so busy focusing on me, she didn't notice the wall inches behind her head. So when we both dodged backwards, kaboom! Now, who's hearing bells?!" Shika explains, and I can't help the loud laugh that escapes my lips, serves her right.

"Winner of the sixth match, Shikamaru Nara." He announces.

"Attaboy, Shikamaru!" Ino cheers.

"Yeah, way to go!" Choji cheers for him.

"Come on, come on! Me next, me next, me next! Me!" Lee chants seeming fired up for a fight.

"Even a good-for-nothing lazy bum won his match. When am I gonna get my turn?" Naruto complains, but he might be in luck as the board begins choosing the next candidates to battle it out.

"Alright, moving onto the next match." The board finally goes through the remaining 10 of us and finally lands on two names, Naruto and Kiba.

"Yeah! It's here! It's here at last! The moment I've been waiting for! Finally, I get to show what I've got!" Naruto cheers next to me, I smile at his enthusiasm.

"I'm going to die of old age before I get my turn." Lee sulks, having not been chosen again. "I just want to show Sakura what I'm made of. She'll get tired of waiting. All I want is a chance!"

"Good luck, Naruto. Do your best." Sakura encourages him.

"You know it, Sakura!"

"Good luck, Naruto, I know you'll beat dog boy," I tell him as I lean back still on the railing, I smile at him, I know he can beat Kiba, he's grown much stronger since the Academy.

"I will. Believe it! It's my time to shine!" He seems earnest, which is good, and he walks off down with Kiba, and they stand on either side of the Proctor.

"Now, the seventh match. Naruto Uzumaki and Kiba Inuzuka." Hayate announces, and there's a tense moment around before Naruto starts mouthing off to Kiba. They start shouting at each other, and Kiba takes Akamaru out of his coat, placing him on the ground, the boys continue to exchange words for a while. "When you're ready, you can begin." Kiba starts right away as he uses one of his family Jutsu and leans on all fours, his fingernails turning into claws, he jumps at Naruto, elbowing him in the chest, knocking the blond away on the floor in front of us. Everyone seems to be putting Naruto down thinking he's just weak, well guess what, you're wrong, and Naruto proves them all wrong, getting up to his feet.

"Yeah, Naruto, show that dog who's boss!" I shout down at him with a grin.

"Yeah!"  
"Attaboy, Naruto!" Lee and Sakura also join in cheering, Kiba and Akamaru go running towards Naruto, Kiba uses smoke grenades, to make it difficult to see and it works both ways, Naruo can be mighty crafty when in certain situations. Kiba is inside the smokescreen, seeming to be hitting Naruto from all of the grunts and groans of pain when Naruto runs out, Akamaru has been outside waiting for this and attacks Naruto, biting into his hand, sending him back into the smoke. Kiba jumps out of the purple smoke as it begins fading away, leaving Naruto lying on the ground and Akamaru sitting, something doesn't feel right, as Akamaru runs at Kiba and bites into his arm. Akamaru is replaced with Naruto who is actually biting Kiba's arm, guess he's come a long way with his Transformation Jutsu, uh, Kiba? I watch the shock on Kiba's face as he shakes Naruto away who seems not to like the smell or taste of Kiba, complaining and spitting it out of his mouth. Kiba looks around for Akamaru, which the clone of Naruto holds, poor little puppy, makes that cute little sound even if I'm not a big dog fan.

"That was amazing, Naruto!" Sakura shouts, in my ear again, I watch Kiba yells at Naruto who gives it back, and it seems to be getting severe as Kiba takes a breath, probably thinking up a battle plan, and he throws a food pill, I think, into Akamaru's mouth. Akamaru changes rapidly becoming a little bigger, more vicious and his fur turns red and kicks away from the clone that disappears from the hit. Kiba takes one also, becoming more hostile as well, he bends over with Akamaru jumping on his back, they use a clone type Jutsu changing Akamaru into Kiba, Naruto starts protesting that they should be disqualified. Still, it's dismissed, seeing as food pills are classed as another Ninja tool. Kiba and Akamaru jump at Naruto going in for the kill. Naruto flips away at the last second, the landing causes dust to fly around, making a convenient smokescreen for Kiba, it clears and one of the Kiba's runs at Naruto, trying to slice at his side but the blond dodges out of the way. The other Kiba runs along the wall before jumping off at Naruto trying to slash him again. He dodges out of the way, the landing is hard, and they both keep going for the blond, making it difficult for him to counterattack if he's always dodging. Naruto jumps out of the way, high this time and Kiba announces his position as he and Akamaru run at Naruto. They use a Taijutsu to spin in the air towards Naruto with high speed, they cut into Naruto, he goes flying and lands on the floor hard on his front.

"Naruto!" I gasp, covering my mouth in shock as we all watch, Kiba says he was going to be Hokage, I scoff, yeah right, that punk is nowhere near to being Hokage not a chance and starts laughing, that's just going to fuel Naruto as he keeps disrespecting Naruto. Naruto will never give up on his dream of becoming Hokage, I won't let him, I will help him to become Hokage, I want to watch him become the greatest Hokage, that's my dream!

Naruto gets to his feet, like always, never giving up in a fight no matter what. "Sorry, but you can forget about being Hokage. Because I'm the top dog around here!" He looks dead serious at Kiba, who runs with his clone, running towards Kiba as they try slicing at the blond who jumps up out of the way and drops down as they use the same move again and falls to the floor hard again. Kiba and Akamaru land fine, skidding to a stop on either side of Naruto's fallen form, but he gets up as Kiba uses a smoke grenade again, and uses the Fang Over Fang again to swirl around the smokescreen, meaning Naruto is totally blind. They come out as the smokescreen fades away leaving Naruto who gets to his feet, wiping away the blood, Kiba runs forward and uses another smoke grenade and does the same.

"What's going on? I can't see!" Sakura worries for our teammate, as we all watch on as Kiba seems to be winning, but I won't lose faith in Naruto, he always seems to pull through. They go in again and seem to stop as the smoke clears, Kakashi-sensei looks impressed, but I don't see it till the smoke fades away to reveal three Kibas! They face-off, seeming not to know who is who at the moment. "Perfect! Good one, Naruto! Brilliant!"

"Making himself like Kiba, a good idea, meaning Kiba won't know who to attack for now. Seeing as one of them is Akamaru" I explain as I watch them face off each other.

"And meanwhile, Naruto is safe attacking either one. Brilliant idea!" Lee gets it and cheers him on.

"He's got him completely stymied." Sakura praises the blond, but it seems Kiba doesn't buy it and punches one of the clones of himself. It transforms into Akamaru, lying there unconscious, Kiba looks angry that he was fooled and hits the other one which also converts into Akamaru. The first one gets up, transforming back into our favourite hyper Naruto, jumping at Kiba, kicking him in the chin, making him fly back on the floor.

"Yeah, show dog boy who's boss!" I cheer with Sakura as we watch, but Kiba bites into his hand to calm himself down, meaning some tricks won't work on him, now his head is clear. Kiba gets out Shuriken in between all his fingers, and Naruto gets ready himself talking about a secret move he's most likely making up as he goes along.

"Where'd he come up with that?" Sakura wonders the same thing.

"You can leave it to Naruto to have a trick up his sleeve! Well done!" Lee cheers him on, but it's most likely he's making it up to screw with Kiba as the brunette runs at the blond, throwing his Shuriken at Naruto, who keeps dodging them all as Kiba goes on all fours, making him faster, he speeds to Naruto and kicks him away. Kiba punches Naruto once he comes to a halt and he goes flying towards us.

"No, Naruto! Get up, idiot!" Sakura and I shout at him as he gets to his feet and Kiba comes for him, slashing at him, knocking him down as he moves fast, too fast for Naruto who gets back up nonetheless and Kiba slices into him as Naruto tries to block and throws Kiba back over away from him. Naruto does the Ram hand sign as Kiba goes in for another slash, Naruto dodges out of the way almost entirely but still gets a gash on his arm, Kiba comes for him again, slicing into his back, the blond goes hard on his front as Kiba stands tall. Naruto always gets back on his feet, surprising everyone that doesn't understand Naruto, he's never one to give up no matter what!

"Attaboy! Look! He's starting to crack! You've got him where you want him!" Sakura yells at Naruto.

"Go for it, Naruto!" Lee cheers for him from Sakura's side as we watch them, Kiba goes into attack Naruto from behind, I cover my ears and close my eyes not wanting to hear or see this, Sakura shouts. I pull my hands away to see Naruto is okay and Kiba seems to be covering his nose, guess Naruto used a strong smell to counter Kiba's strong sense of smell, and he begins creating clones that circle around the immobile Kiba. One of the clones runs at Kiba, punching him down, another runs forward, as the first one kneels down for a boost as he spins up in the air and three others kick Kiba into the air meeting the second clone who comes towards the brunette, kicking him in the face into the ground as they both land. Kiba doesn't seem to be moving, and all of the clones puff away, Hayate walks over and checks on Kiba, before standing up with another cough and steps out.

"The winner is Naruto Uzumaki." He announces, and Lee gives out a cheer, I giggle in relief.

"Yes, Naruto! That's my teammate! Way to go!" Sakura cheers.

"Yeah! You showed him who's boss!" I cheer alongside them, and the medics run in to take Kiba away to join the other injured candidates, and Naruto runs up to join us on the upper level.

"It was nothing! Piece of cake!" Naruto exclaims as he jumps up the stairs and passes Kiba's team, he stops as Hinata talks to him, that's a big step for her and takes something from her and comes walking over.

"What did Hinata give you?" I ask as I look at the small dark brown cylinder in his hand.

"Oh, she said it was a healing ointment." He answers and I nod, with a smile but I feel a little upset at it but brush it off.

"That's nice of her." I smile and turn back around sulking a little as I wait for the next set of names to be announced. Sakura leans on the railing next to me and looks at me, she seems to understand as she takes my hand that I didn't realise was holding tightly onto the steel bar.

"It's okay, sis," She assures me, and I nod as he starts applying the ointment.

"Whoa, this stuff Hinata gave me works fast!" He exclaims as I watch the cut close up instantly, that's not possible, it must be like before when he stabbed himself, the cut was closing up by itself. "Here, want to try it, Sakura?" He asks and holds it out to her, I look over to see Hinata talking to Kiba about something, but I look over to Hayate as he begins speaking.

"Alright. We'll now pick the names for the next match." The board glows and begins speeding through the last eight remaining names, I bite my lip, hoping to fight next, but it seems almost like cruel fate as it lands on Hinata and her cousin Neji. They both face off on the arena floor in front of Hayate, this is bad, she has to forfeit the match, Neji will be ruthless against her, he won't hold back.

"I never thought that you and I would have to face each other, Hinata." He comments.

"Nor I, brother." She replies.

"What did she call him?" Sakura questions in shock.

"Brother? Those two are brother and sister?" Naruto asks as he looks over the railing at them.

"They're both descended from the Hyuga Clan, one of the most ancient and honourable families of the Hidden Leaf Village. They're not actually brother and sister." Sensei explains.

"Okay, but they're related somehow, right?" Sakura asks.

"Yes. in the way a branch of a great tree is related to its trunk. Technically, they are more like cousins." He explains a little more.

"A trunk of a tree?" Naruto doesn't seem to understand.

"Yeah, Hinata belongs to the family's main household, directly descended from the head of the Clan, but Neji's family is one of the side branches of the Hyuga Clan," I explain, upsetting Lee who seems to have wanted to clarify.

"Still, they're family, and now they have to fight each other. I feel for them. I could never fight against Rio." Sakura replies and holds my hand tight, I squeeze it back.

"Yes! But…" Lee adds on.

"But what?" She asks him.

"It may not be as hard as it seems. I have heard that for many generations, there has been bad blood between the two families." Lee explains.

"And why's that?" Naruto asks him.

"I have never known the specifics. But you know about the bloodline traits of the great Ninja Clans like the Uchiha and the Hyuga, special techniques and abilities unique to those families. The first generation of the Hyuga Clan made many rules and decrees that favour the main branch of the family. It seems some branches of the family broke these rules." Lee explains quite well, but the two don't seem to get it and look a little confused. "Anyway, it is said that because of that, there has been friction between the branches of the Clan."

"So, it's like this match is a family feud." Sakura gets it, and I look down at Hinata as she stands nervously looking down at the ground while Neji stands tall and proud, looking at Hinata.

"Look, they're about to start." Kakashi-sensei gains the other's attention.

"Alright, you may begin when ready," Hayate announces and neither Neji nor Hinata move first.

"Before we do this, a word of advice. Hinata, listen to me." He snaps at her, and she looks up at him. "Withdraw now. You know you were never meant to be a Ninja." That seems to hit something with her. "You're too kind and gentle. You seek harmony and avoid conflict. You allow yourself to be easily swayed by others. Admit it, you have no confidence. You feel inferior to everyone else here. It would have been better for you to simply remain a Genin. But to register for the Chunin Exams, you need a team of three people. You never even wanted to take part in these Exams, but Shino and Kiba did, and you couldn't bear to let your teammates down, could you?" He hits below the belt.

"No! You're wrong! You're wrong! I wanted… I had to find out… I did it because I wanted to see if I could change." She tells him, and he goes off on one.

"Hinata, you are the pampered offspring of the Hyuga's main branch."

"What?"

"People can't change, no matter how hard they try." He is so wrong, I've seen it, and Hinata can become more confident in herself just watch her Neji! "They can't run away from their true nature. A failure will always be a failure." It seems that he hit it off with Naruto who has personal experience in changing himself. "People are judged by their true nature, it is the way of the world. That is why we have an elite and why there are outcasts. We can change our physical appearance, improve our skills with training and study, but ultimately, we are judged by what we cannot change. What can't be changed must be endured. We are who we are, Hinata, and we must live with it. Just as I must live with the fact that you were born into the elite of our Clan whole, I am from a lesser branch. I understand these things because I see the world clearly with my Byakugan. Despite your brave words, what you're really thinking is that you'd like to run, run as far away from here as you can."

"No! You're wrong! You're wrong about me!" Hinata cries.

"Byakugan?" Sakura asks.

"It's the Kekkei Genkai or bloodline trait of the Hyuga. A visual Jutsu like Sasuke's Sharingan. In fact, they say the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan was derived from the Byakugan some time long ago. But for sheer power of insight, the Byakugan is the stronger of the two." Sensei explains, and Neji begins, he activating his Byakugan and starts filling Hinata with fear and it seems Naruto is growing angrier the more Neji talks.

"That's enough!" Naruto snaps, stopping Neji. "Who gave you the rights to tell her what she can or can't be?! Come on, Hinata, show this guy he's wrong! Hinata! You just gonna stand there and take that? Do something! You're driving me crazy!" It seems to hit her as she gets serious, and finally begin as she activates her Byakugan and moves slightly into a crouch, they mirror each other.

"Of course. It is the Hyuga Style." Lee comments and we look over to him in confusion. "That is why their poses are the same."

"The Hyuga Style?" I ask him, tilting my head a little.

"It is the most effective type of Taijutsu found in our village. I have said it before, I have on my team the man who is probably the strongest Genin ever to come out of the Hidden Leaf Village. That man." He tells us, and I look back as they finally start hitting each other, dodging out of the way of each open-palmed hit, Hinata almost gets Neji in the stomach, but he pulls back.

"Did she get him?" Sakura questions as we watch.

"No way. She hardly touched him." Naruto exclaims.

"Even son, a glancing blow is enough. That is what makes the Hyuga Clan the most formidable of fighters." Lee explains.

"What does? What are you talking about?" Sakura asks.

"Their Taijutsu is a unique one that's been passed down for generations. It's not the kind of Taijutsu Lee, and I employ. We tend to concentrate on inflicting external damage. We use crushing blows to raise contusions and break limbs, pounding our enemy. The Hyuga way is to attack their opponent's internal organs and the Chakra network through which the Chakra flows. Their way is more subtle. Perhaps not as thrilling to watch, but it gradually takes effect with devastating results." Guy-Sensei explains in detail.

"You can't build up your internal organs no matter how hard you train. Even the toughest Ninja is vulnerable to this kind of attack." Kakashi-sensei explains, and we watch as they block and attack again.

"Hinata! Way to go!" Naruto cheers for her.

"They attack the Chakra network? These people are amazing." I ponder as I watch them dance around each other.

"Yeah, you could say that again. So, what is the Chakra network, anyway?" Naruto asks, clueless as usual.

"Don't you know anything?" Sakura sasses with a scoff.

"I'll explain it. It is the complex system of circulatory canals that distribute Chakra throughout the body, similar to a person's vascular system, the veins and arteries that carry blond." I explain to him.

"I get it. Only these veins carry Chakra, not blood." He somewhat understands.

"Basically. Furthermore, the Chakra network is so closely interwoven with all the most vital internal organs that they are virtually one and the same. Therefore, when the network is attacked, these organs suffer damage as well." Lee adds to my explanation.

"Wow, Lee, how'd you ever get to be so smart?" Naruto exclaims with a goofy grin.

"Idiot! How'd you ever get to be a Genin?" Sakura snaps at him and punches him on the back of the head. "But, Sensei, how do they know where to strike their opponent? I mean, the Chakra network is invisible to the eye, right? So, how do they know exactly where to land their blows?"

"You're forgetting their Byakugan. There are few things invisible to those eyes. What's more, when they strike a blow, it's different from a normal attack. A small but intense burst of their own Chakra is released from their hand. It drills into the opponent's body, directly attacking his Chakra network." Sensei explains, and we watch Hinata seemingly hit Neji in his stomach.

"Yeah! Get him!" Naruto cheers but I don't think she did. As blood spits out of her mouth, it seems Neji hit her instead. "Wait! What is going on? I mean, I saw Hinata hit Neji perfectly!" She moves his hand out of the way trying to get hit him in the face, but he grabs her outstretched arm and slams it instead. He slides up her hoodie sleeve revealing angry red spots along her arm. "What is he talking about?"

"On the Chakra network, there are 216 energy centres or Chakra points, and each are only about the size of the head of a pin. Hitting one directly can affect Chakra flow, either halting it or increasing it, depending on how the attacker strikes the Chakra points. Theoretically, doing so allows a Ninja to gain complete control over an opponent's Chakra flow. But these Chakra points, they're undetectable even to my Sharingan eye. Even beyond his ability to see the Chakra points, he can target them accurately, even during an intense battle." Sensei explains and I turn around to see Neji push Hinata away onto the floor, and he walks towards her, trying to get her to forfeit the match again, but she seems stubborn as she declines, getting back to her feet with a little bit of a struggle.

"I had no idea that Hinata's as tough as she is." Naruto comments.

"She is a lot like you." Lee remarks.

"You know, come to think of it, she is always watching you." Sakura remarks and I watch Hinata suddenly yelp in pain, holding the same spot Neji hit earlier and coughs up blood, she's done for; unfortunately, Neji will win.

"Go, Hinata! You can do it!" Naruto yells down at her, idiot, she has no chance of winning but ever the optimist. Hinata runs at Neji, and they begin exchanging blows in fast accession, and it seems she's got a fire inside as she fights, I'm glad, but still, Neji will be ruthless against her. They dance around as they try hitting each other and blocking each other's attempts, Hinata goes in too far, and Neji pushes her hand away and thrusts his hand into her chin the force pushes away a few steps. Hinata stops herself from stopping, but she must be in some pain from the hit and catches her breath before running towards Neji, going to hit him but he's too quick as he drills her again in the chest, there's a tense moment before she coughs up blood and falls to the ground.

"It's too bad that after that blow to the heart, Hinata is done." Guy-sensei comments and the Proctor seems to agree as he walks towards Hinata.

"Since she's no longer able to continue this match-" Of course, Naruto shouts his disagreement, stopping Hayate.

"Don't stop this match!"  
"Naruto!" I warn him. "What on earth are you doing? Hinata's had it. You can see she's unconscious, can't you? Wait, seriously?" I look with everyone else in shock as the once quiet and kinda weak girl gets up again. I can't believe my eyes, Hinata is standing, but just barely as she holds her side in pain as she breathes heavily, I'm surprised she's standing after that last hit from Neji. This seems to anger Neji and starts spouting rubbish again, letting her collect herself, and he runs at her, making the first move. Kakashi-sensei along with Guy and Kurenai all vanish and appear along with Hayate to stop the older Hyuga.

"Neji, get a hold of yourself, you promised you wouldn't let this head family get you riled up!" Guy-Sensei reminds him as he has a hold of Neji, using his arm around his throat, making sure Neji can't move.

"Why are you and the other Jonin butting in?" He asks them, he's got a point, but still, he could kill Hinata with the state she's in. "The head family gets special treatment?" Hinata yelps in pain again, and collapses to the ground, Kurenai-sensei crouched by Neji's side, holding his wrist, looks up at her pupil and runs over to her.

"Hinata!" She calls out to her, and I jump down with Naruto, Sakura and Lee as we go over to her.

"Hinata!" We call out to her as Kurenai-sensei carefully lies her down.

"Hinata, are you okay?" Naruto asks her as he crouches down at her side. "Hey, hey!"

"Nar-Naruto? I just… I… do you… do you think…" She tries saying, but she loses consciousness having all those blows to her chest, I take her hand in mine, feeling it, it seems a little cold but not overly alarming.

"It's okay, you've gotten stronger, little flower," I whisper as I wipe some of the blood away.

"Hey, you, loser." Neji calls out, and Naruto actually responds to 'loser'. "I have two pieces of advice for you." I look over to that arrogant Hyuga as he stands behind Guy-sensei. "First of all, if you intend to call yourself a Shinobi, stop that stupid cheering of yours. It's disgraceful. And second, once a failure always a failure. You can't change that."

"We'll see about that!" Naruto growls back at him and runs at the Hyuga, but Lee slides in to stop the blond. "What are you doing?"

"Naruto, I get where you're coming from, believe me, but the rules say all fighting must be done officially in a match. The loser beating the gifted genius through sheer willpower. Now, would not that make for an exciting match? Even if I am the one who is going to have to fight Neji. of course, if you ended up fighting him, that is fine, too." Lee remarks and I agree in some ways and walk over to the boys.

"Alright, fine! You win, Lee!" Naruto concedes defeat, not happily of course. Hinata gives out another cough, I turn around to see more blood and Kurenai-sensei opens her hoodie and places her hand on her chest, she must be going into cardiac arrest from the hit.

"I wouldn't waste time glaring at me when you should be taking care of her." He spits back, and I hurry back to Hinata.

"Get a medic and hurry up!" Kurenai-sensei calls out in a panic and three come running in, I begin CPR quickly as they unroll the stretcher, and one checks her for a pulse.

"She has no pulse!" He calls out and watches as I continue.

"It's serious. She's got ten minutes at best." Another one says.

"Let's get her to the emergency room now!" The third one orders and I push down again on Hinata's chest, and she sputters more blood but thankfully starts breathing again, I sigh in relief as they quickly rush her off to the hospital. "Well done kid, we'll take it from here." I stand on my feet and take Naruto's hand in mine for comfort as we watch them rush her out of the room. Naruto kneels down, seeing Hinata's blood and spreads his fingers through it.

"Hinata, I give you my word. I vow to win!" He turns and faces against Neji who as usual looks disinterested and I have to pull Naruto away as we walk up letting the cleaners do their job.

"Thank you, Rio," Kurenai-sensei says, and I nod as I take Naruto with me.

"That was really awesome Rio, the way you made Hinata start breathing again." Naruto praises me, but I just shake my head trying to fight the blush, I know of Hinata's crush on Naruto, and I promised I won't turn out like Sakura and Ino, Hinata and I are still friends, if Naruto were to choose Hinata then I would step down. That's what friends do.

**Another one! BOOM! I KNOW Rio hasn't got her chance just yet, but she is right up next! Also, I got asked to make Naruto stronger than he was in the cannon and I agree it would be awesome but for Part 1 he's going to be the same. When it comes to Part 2 *Shippuden* I am going to make him stronger seeing as he needs time and the struggles he goes through are important same as Rio and anyone else. ****DEADGIRLETERNAL OUT!**


	13. The Power of Hidden Strength

**The Power of Hidden Strength: A Splendid Ninja Approaches Danger!**

_Chunin Arc - Episode 48 - 51_

**3rd POV: (FROM UNTIL TOLD OTHERWISE)**

After Hinata and Neji's fight, the cleaners come out to clean the blood, everyone worries for the raven-haired Hyuga who had stopped breathing. Naruto stands away from his team, watching the cleaners, and his team stand back between Team 10 and Team Guy. Rio is being held back by her sister as the older Haruno tries to get at the arrogant brunette, and Lee is trying to calm her down. "Rio, please calm down!" Lee pleads with her as she struggles in her sister's hold but suddenly stops.

"Fine, for now, I won't try to strangle him." She replies and jumps to sit on the railing, she finds it a better view for all of the fights and reminds her of when she would hide on the Academy roof before she had her garden, her sanctuary.

Over with Team 10, Shikamaru sees that it's only six more candidates to fight and one of them is his friend and teammate Choji. "Woah, Choji, glad I'm not you. I mean, you still got the toughest ones left. I wouldn't wanna face any of 'em, that creepy guy from the Sound Village. And Rock Lee's gotta be tough if he took on Sasuke. And especially not that Sand Village guy. I don't even like being in the same room with him. Even that Rain Ninja and then don't forget there's Rio, with that new Jutsu." Shikamaru freaks Choji out on purpose, which seems to give him a stomach ache from the fear and stress now on his shoulders.

"I'm not feeling so good! Maybe I ought to go ahead and forfeit now." Choji gives up, crouching down behind the bars of the railing.

"What?" Asuma questions as he looks down at the chubby Genin. "If you win, I'll take you for a barbeque." He bribes him.

"Wha…? Come on!" Choji complains, and Asuma kneels next to him.

"Choji, come on. Don't worry. If it gets bad, we'll stop the fight just like with Hinata. Okay? Think of it. All of the ribs…" Asuma tries again to bribe him.

"_That's a low blow, playing on his weak spot." _Ino sighs in disappointment in her Sensei.

"_When did he step in and stop the fight anyway?" _Shikamaru scoffs as he looks down at his Sensei and the bribe seems to work as Choji gets to his feet with a roar.

"Now, you're talking! All you can eat! Bring it on!" His shouts echo through the arena.

On the other side, Gaara seems to be shaking, wanting a fight to unleash the bloodlust built up inside him. Kankuro looks next to him at his younger brother, seeing him shaking and the bloodlust rolling off of him in waves. "_Uh-oh. I've seen that look before." _He gulps in fear, remembering what happened last time.

"_I can sense his bloodlust." _Temari feels it too.

"_That last fight. I wonder…"_ Baki ponders as he looks at the young boy. "_... did it stir up his inner _demon_?"_

"_I'm still curious about that Neji guy."_ Kankuro thinks to himself and looks along the upper level to see Naruto all alone away from the others. "_Yeah. That might work."_

"Where are you going?" Temari asks her younger brother.

"Just doing a little recon. I'll be back." He replies as he walks off down the stairs towards the other set of stairs.

"Hey, you," Kankuro calls out to the lone blond as he looks down at the cleaners and hearing the Puppet Master, he turns to face him. "How come you're all by yourself? Why aren't you hanging with your buddies?"

"Huh? What's it to you?" Naruto asks him, thinking he's sketchy.

"_Well, well. Touchy."_ Kankuro smirks at the kid. "So, tell me something about this guy, Neji. I get the feeling we didn't see the full extent of his powers in the last fight. So, what's his story?"

"I'm gonna pulverise him! That's his story!" Naruto exclaims, raising his fist in anger after what he did to Hinata.

"Okay. But that's not quite what I mean." He comments. "_Man, this idiot's out of his league." _He scoffs as he looks at the small blond. "You know, you seem like a nice guy. I like you."

"Well, don't take this the wrong way, but I don't like you!" Naruto counters back at Kankuro.

"_This kid is toast."_ The teen grits his teeth looking down at the blond who looks up at him, and Hayate loudly coughs, gaining everyone's attention.

"Now then, we'll continue the competition." He announces, and the remaining six all wait for their turn.

"Alright! This time, you'll be picked! I just know it! You ready, Lee?" Guy asks his student.

"No!" He answers, playing around. "I have been waiting so long; I do not care. I might as well go last."

"_What's up with Lee? Is he sulking?"_ Sakura wonders and looks at her sister who giggles and the names of the last six begin showing on the board and finally land on Toru and Rio Haruno. Said girl stops laughing, seeing that she's next. Lee lets out a cry and starts actually sulking.

"I thought that would work! I thought that if I pretended not to want it, then I would be next." Lee sulks and Choji cries out in victory.

"Safe!"

"Don't do that!" Ino scolds him, smacking him on the head.

"Want everyone to know you're scared?" Shikamaru asks him, hitting him on the head after Ino. Kakashi looks at the last member of his team, sitting on the railing, as everyone looks at her, as she sits there.

"Rio, it's time for you to show them what you're made of," Kakashi tells her, and she nods, seeing Toru, a boy from the Rain Village, he seems nice looking with his black shaggy long hair hiding his handsome face. He looks a few years older than Rio making him at least 14-15, he steps in front of Hayate, waiting impatiently, tapping his foot and pulling his hands into his grey hoodie pockets. Rio grips hard onto the railing and looks behind her at the others with a smile, seeing no one standing right behind her and lifts her upper body. She hovers above the bar and carefully pulls her legs out behind her and goes into a handstand on the thin railing. Everyone watches the young girl as she pushes off with such force the railing rattles and she spins in the air for a few seconds and lands opposite Toru.

"Hi," She greets him with a big smile.

"_What?! Is she playing me, she seems so weak!" _Toru rages inside his head as he looks at her seeing the beaten up look about her, rips in her shirt and trousers, even a few bruises on her face.

"Yeah, go, Rio! Kick his butt, show him what you can do!" Sakura cheers for her sister along with the other Leaf Genin. Rio turns around and waves at them with a smile, angering Toru even further feeling she is disrespecting him.

"Alright, if you are both ready…" Hayate says and looks at the two of them. "...begin." Toru runs straight at Rio, who has her back to him, the others try warning her, but it's too late, he uses a Kunai to her right side, she yells in pain at the stab and tries to lash out with her already raised right hand, but he takes it and pulls it behind her back. He uses a hammerlock on her and Rio is unable to move free of him, she hangs her head as she hears everyone shouting out her name.

"You don't have what it takes to be a Ninja." Toru sneers in her ear.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura calls out to him as she looks at the calm Jonin as they all watch, she holds onto the railing in fear for her older sister.

"Man, I thought Rio would be the toughest girl here." Shikamaru comments, even his Sensei looks at the boy in surprise at this and looks at the pinkette as she just hangs in the boy's grip.

"_Come on, Rio! I know you can take this guy!"_ Ino panics for her friend.

"Rio! Come on! What are you doing!" Naruto shouts at her and sees her tilt her head up slightly and opens her mouth, what appears to be earth pours out of her mouth, Toru looks at her in shock wondering when she had the time to perform any Jutsu. Rio holds up the Snake hand sign but only half with her free hand.

"No way! She did it one-handed!" Kankuro gapes at the girl.

"Impressive." Lord Third smiles as he watches, the others also watch on impressive with her level of skill for someone so young.

"**Earth Style! Golem Jutsu!" **Rio snaps and the earth slowly forms into a large golem made of dirt, tall about 7 foot in height, looming over the pair. "Abella, attack!" The golem, named for 'Breath of Life', raises it's fist towards them, Toru releases Rio and steps back as the golem quickly punches at the ground between the two. Rio runs for cover behind Abella and pokes her head out at the boy, he seems interesting, but she starts assembling her Naginata.

"**Fire Style! Earth Spider Jutsu!"** Toru spews fire out from his mouth at the golem which catches alight quickly, Rio watches and runs out slashing at Toru who dodges her attacks. "Seems you aren't bad, but still I will win this match!" Rio throws her Naginata at him, he jumps out of the way in time but is distracted, not seeing when Rio disappeared.

"Woah! She's fast." Temari marvels at seeing the small girl as she disappears into the floor, and Toru looks around the battlefield trying to find her as the flames grow, surrounding the arena.

Toru releases the Jutsu as it comes closer and he hears a slicing sound from behind him, he turns in time to see a Kunai knife, slash into his arm, he holds his left arm in pain from the deep gash. Rio pops out again behind him and throws more Kunai, slicing him around the body in quick concession and stops, seeing he's about to fall to the ground. Rio walks towards him and looks down at him, Hayate walks over as well about to announces Rio the winner. when Toru grabs onto Rio's ankle, pulling it out from under her, she lands on her head with a sickening crack, and her head falls away, before puffing into smoke, and the real Rio slowly ascends from the stone. "Glad I thought of that little trick." She beams as she looks at the angry face of Toru.

"_This girl! She's infuriating!" _Toru roars inside his head and scrambles to his feet, and he begins attacking Rio, she is unable to counterattack as she keeps blocking his ferocious attacks.

"Seems she can't keep up," Anko comments as she looks at the girl with a sigh and the raven-haired boy clips her under her chin, she falls back, and he uses his forearm into the side of her head, knocking her to the floor. She falls right next to her Naginata, still embedded in the stone tile.

"I do not think so, Anko." Iruka remarks as he watches and she looks at him. "Rio is well known to be an expert with her Naginata." Anko turns back to watch the girl, using the weapon to get to her feet, she quickly blocks the boy's next hit.

"A little girl like you should really put a weapon like that down; it's not for children. Only the strong can win." Toru remarks and he hits the wrong button, big time.

"He's dead." Naruto sighs and seems like he's praying and Kankuro looks at the girl as she begins twirling the Naginata between her hands behind her back and around.

"Poor guy, so young." Sakura smiles as she watches the angry look on her sister's face.

"What do you mean, Sakura?" Lee asks his crush.

"Well, you see, before Iruka-Sensei gave Rio her Naginata, she thought she was weak. She calls her Nagi her strength, so anyone who calls her weak or takes her Naginata away. Boy, do you want to get out of the way." She explains, her squad leader, looks at the girl and walks over, joining his student. He narrows his eyes as he sees something sliding out from the joint holding the blade; it seems like a clear liquid spreading over the edge, coating it in a thin layer.

Rio stops spinning her Naginata and holds it out in front of her, pointing it at Toru who runs at her, they clash again, Rio is careful to avoid touching him with her blade just yet. "I am not weak; I am strong! I will win!" She snaps as she slices him in the arm, she pulls back and smirks. "Too bad you won't live to see the end."

Shock goes around the spectators as they watch. "What does she mean?" "How can he be dead at the end?" "What's she mean by alive at the end?" They all wonder and the pinkette holds her Naginata in her hand and points to the blade, but Toru doesn't seem to understand.

"What are you going to slash me to death, you only sliced my arm!" He snaps, and she smiles, shaking her head.

"No, what's on my blade, silly. See when we were in the Forest of Death I came across some very poisonous flowers called Deadly Nightshade and made it into a liquid poison. I placed the poison into the pole of my Naginata. When I spun her, she released the poison, coating the blade in the deadly poison." Rio explains, and the whole time she smiles.

"You poisoned me! You little punk!" Toru growls, and she smiles as he tries to run at her, but she dodges out of the way quickly.

"Impressive, I've never seen a Genin think so far ahead of themselves, and to use poisonous plants and turn them into a weapon." Anko muses as she watches.

"Yeah, that's Rio!" Choji chuckles as they watch, Asuma smirks and looks over at Kakashi as he seems as impressed as anyone.

"See, the poison I used is slow-acting, it's a diluted form, meaning it will take around half an hour at best to kill you. Before that, you'll begin to sweat, vomit, have breathing difficulty then slip into a coma and then death. Interesting, right?" Rio giggles as she twirls her Naginata around, unaware of Toru getting out a Kunai and he throws it at her, in the back.

"Rio!" Sakura cries out as her sister falls to the ground, her Naginata sliding away, Toru walks over to her and begins kicking her in the stomach mercilessly.

"Not so high and mighty now, If I'm going to die then I'll take you with me," Toru screams as he kicks Rio a final time, he sees that she's unmoving, lying on the stone tile and walks away, but Rio seems to muster up the strength to move, struggling to get to her feet, she slowly forms hand signs.

"How is she still moving, that Kunai is in her back!" Dosu wonders but he has fought against her before. "It's not possible!"

"Oh, Rio," Sakura whispers in fear.

"She's a fighter, Sakura," Kakashi assures her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder as they watch Rio get to her feet on shaky legs.

Rio looks up with a blank look on her face, Dosu feels a shiver recognising it from when she nearly killed him in the Forest of Death and Sakura gasps, seeing the same look. "Oh, no!" She gaps and covers her mouth as she watches her sister.

"**Earth Style! Swamp of the Underworld." **She puts her hands onto the ground, and a dark circle appears underneath him, he tries to escape by clinging onto the floor, but it's futile. Rio walks towards him, letting it stop keeping him in place halfway through the floor and begins more hand signs. "Snake, Rat, Dragon, Dog, Tiger." She whispers under her breath as the voice inside her head instructs her.

"Those are!-" Lord Hokage gasps as he recognises the hand signs.

"What is it, Lord Hokage?" Anko asks him, and he points towards the scene, and she watches as small sprouts of wood come out of the floor, swirling around the boy who tries to rip them off, and it towers around him blooming into a tall sakura tree.

"**Wood Style! Tree Binding Flourishing Burial."** She whispers to herself once complete, and everyone looks at the boy as he struggles to free himself, unable to move.

"The winner is Rio Haruno," Hayate announces after a stunned silence takes over the room, and Sakura jumps down from the balcony towards her sister and holds her steady, and slaps her awake.

"Rio, are you okay?" She asks, and Rio looks around and sees the tree in the middle of the arena and shakes her head.

"What happened?" Rio asks as she looks around.

"It happened again," Sakura mutters and looks at the giant sakura tree in the arena.

"Why is this happening to me." Rio whispers and Kakashi stands behind her; he places his hands over her eyes as she starts crying. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do it. I don't understand." She sobs, her little sister and the others all watch her as the girl breaks down. "I'm sorry for being a freak!" The medics and cleaners all arrive, the cleaners make work of the tree as the physicians go to Rio, Kakashi keeps her within arm's length as they patch her up, and place bandages around her chest to cover the stab wound in her back. The whole time, Rio can't help but cry, Sakura holding her hand and Kakashi's, Naruto watches the girl he always saw as strong and brave, crying, and he walks over and crouches down, seeing the tears streaming down her face.

"Why are you crying, Rio? You were so awesome out there, and that Jutsu at the end, I've never seen anything like it!" Naruto beams and it seems to temper her tears and tries getting to her feet once the medics finish done with her, but her legs give up, she falls, but Naruto catches her in his arms. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"My legs feel numb. I think he got a nerve in my spine." Rio answers and Kakashi picks her up in his arms bridal style, and they walk back to the others.

"Rio, that was spectacular!" Lee praises her; she smiles as Kakashi places her on the floor carefully by the wall.

"Thank you, Lee." She replies softly, and Sakura sits next to her to keep her company.

"Hokage, what Orochimaru did to her, she's another one, isn't she?" Anko asks him in a hushed tone, and he nods.

"Indeed, she is, and after this, she will need to be trained." He agrees and thinks of what that serpent will do if he gets a hold of Rio or Sasuke.

**Rio's POV:**

"Sakura, you don't have to sit next to me. If you want to watch the final matches." I tell her, and she slides me forward, so my lefts are in between the bars, and I sit leaning as I watch them finish clearing away the giant sakura tree I made. I still don't understand what is happening, but I need to push it back for now and cheer on Lee and Choji as they are the only ones left to battle it out. The board lights up and switches between the last four candidates, that Sound guy Dosu, Gaara the scary-looking redhead and then there's Lee and Choji. It lands on Gaara and Lee, this is bad, that leaves Dosu against Choji, and I'm worried about Lee, Gaara seems powerful and unknown. Choji lets out a yell; I look over at him through the legs of the others, I mean it's not him though he does have to go against Dosu.

"Safe again!" Choji cheers and Ino and Shikamaru smack him to silence him.

"Lee!" Sakura gasps and I look over to see him kicking the air, seeming to stretch.

"It worked like a charm! I knew if I said I wanted to be last, I'd be next. Though I was not right away, I am glad I am next. I simply applied the principle which states that the surest way to hit something is to stop trying to hit it!" Lee explains his thinking and stops kicking and goes to punching the air. "It is a form of reverse psychology!"

"Oh-ha! That's my student!" Guy-Sensei cheers at the boy.

"I absolutely was not going to be last no matter what! I sure fooled them, did I not?!" Lee exclaims, and Guy-sensei leans to talk to Lee.

"Now then, listen carefully. A piece of advice before you begin." He gains Lee attention.

"Sir!" He salutes the older version of himself in the future.

"Look. You see that gourd that Gaara's wearing? Watch out. There's something weird about it." Guy-Sensei advises him, but it's obvious there's something about Gaara and his Jutsu that are strange but definitely powerful.

"Good advice, sir," Lee exclaims as they lean in and he starts writing it into a notebook.

"Don't write it down!" Guy-sensei scolds him. "What are you thinking? You won't have time to read notes during the match!"

"Ah, more good advice." Lee starts writing it down; I shake my head at their antics.

"Now, rock… and roll!" Guy-Sensei orders and points out into the arena.

"Yeah!" He roars and jumps over the railing down, facing against Gaara. "I knew that sooner or later, we'd meet and I'm glad it's sooner." Gaara doesn't respond, and there's a tense moment before the cork from Gaara's gourd comes at Lee who catches it and lets it fall to the floor.

"Alright, then. If you are both ready… begin." Hayate announces, and Lee runs at Gaara, he jumps into the air, he's fast on his feet.

"**Leaf Hurricane!"** He kicks at Gaara, but sand protects him, shielding Gaara from the attack, Lee lands down on the floor, and the sand rushes towards him in a wave, he jumps and spins away, landing a safe distance from the sand. The sand retreats away back into the gourd, Gaara isn't even moving his hands, he's just standing with his arms crossed.

"It's sand!" Sakura gasps, as we all watch, Lee runs towards him, the sand runs out of the gourd, Lee tries kicking at Gaara, but the sand keeps moving independently from Gaara as if moving of its own will. Every time Lee tries to attack, the sand blocks it as fast as they come, the sand speeds towards Lee, who gets out his Kunai, slicing the incoming sand and tries to kick Gaara again but he's open, and the sand falls towards him, and he rolls out of the way. Lee moves out of the way, trying to outrun the sand, as it flows towards him, He jumps into the air, trying to escape and throws Shuriken at Gaara, but again the sand protects him as Lee lands. "Even as fast as he is, Lee can't get close to him."

"The sand seems to be protecting Gaara, independently, Lee will need to be faster to combat the speed of the sand," I comment, Sakura looks down at me as I feel a twinge of pain run through my leg, pins and needles as the numbness begins to fade. Gaara talks in a creepy rasped voice and the way he said 'we' was as if talking about the sand or something else besides him and the sand flows along the floor towards Lee. The green-clad Genin tries to jump out of the way, but the sand wraps around his ankle, swinging him around before releasing him and throwing him into the sidewall, under our feet. I feel the vibration of Lee's body hit the wall as he falls to the floor, he doesn't have much time to recover as the sand comes slamming against the wall just as Lee rolls out of the way and he runs towards Gaara. Lee keeps trying to hit the redhead, but the sand keeps protecting him, I watch them, Lee is fast, but he's only Taijutsu, and it seems my dear sister also notices the same thing.

"I don't get it. He's only using Taijutsu. Can't he see that's never going to work? Why doesn't he get some distance and use Ninjutsu?" Sakura wonders aloud.

"Yes, that might be a good idea, that is, if he had any," Guy-sensei responds, and I look over at the Jonin. "Lee has no Ninjutsu or Genjutsu skills at all."

"You've gotta be kidding me." I turn to look at Lee as he keeps trying to break through the sand barrier between him and Gaara.

"Oh, that's nothing. You should have seen how hopeless he was when I first met him. No talent whatsoever." Guy-sensei seems so proud of his student, the proud smile on his face, as he looks down at the boy.

"Really? I can't believe it." Sakura whispers and I watch Lee jump away with the sand following him, Lee flips repeatedly, but the sand gets underneath him, causing him to fall. The sand rises over him to crash down on him, but somehow Lee jumps out of the way, spinning in the air and he lands on top of the statue's fingers.

"A Ninja who can do neither Ninjutsu or Genjutsu is certainly a rarity. Lee has only his Taijutsu to rely on. Some might consider that a disadvantage. But that's what makes him a winner." Guy-sensei explains. "Alright, Lee, take 'em off!" He shouts out, with a thumbs up at the leotard wearing Genin, who looks conflicted.

"But you said that was only as a last resort when the lives of very important people were at stake," Lee argues.

"That's right, I did. But this is an exception." Guy-sensei assures him, and it seems essential whatever it is as Lee's face grows joyful like a child opening their presents on Christmas morning.

"Really? Really!" He beams and sits, taking his orange leg warmers off, revealing leg weights, and takes them off, he stands back up, holding both sets. "Ah. That is better. Now I will be able to move freely!" He lets them fall, and they cause a massive explosion, dust scatters from the crash, it even rumbles the room at the amount of weight from those leg weights, that must have been a couple of 100 pounds or close to that.

"Alright, now go!" Guy-sensei orders him with his usual teeth showing grin and points out to the arena.

"Yes, sir!" Lee exclaims and jumps into the air, he disappears with how fast he is now, Lee appears landing behind and punches through the sand, even Gaara looks amazed at the speed as he looks behind at Lee's fist. Lee disappears again and appears on his other side, kicking the sand before Gaara, or the sand can look, Lee keeps moving around the circle of sand trying to find an opening, the sand can't keep up with Lee's fast attacks. He almost gets a hit in, close to Gaara's face.

"So close!" Sakura cheers.

"Sensei! Can I try it?" I ask as I look back at Kakashi-sensei who nods.

"We'll see, but first we'll have to train that new ability of yours." Kakashi-sensei replies and I nod, turning back to the fight as Lee keeps attacking the sand but he's getting closer.

"I could see that Lee had no aptitude for Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. So we skipped them and focused all his time and energy into developing his Taijutsu. That way, we turned his disadvantage into a blessing. Now, he doesn't need those other things to win because he's transformed himself into the world's greatest Taijutsu specialist." Guy-sensei boasts and at that moment, Lee spins in the air and smashes Gaara down with his leg, hard from the sound it makes and Lee skids away. "Yes, Lee! Let the power of youth explode!"

"Right!" Lee exclaims and runs at Gaara, and keeps playing with him, as he hits the sand that can barely keep up and the green-glad Genin punches Gaara knocking the redhead down.

"Good!" Guy-sensei cheers.

"He's just too quick! That sand storm can't keep up with him! Lee, you nailed him!" Sakura cheers for him and I try standing up, my legs are feeling better, and I use the railing to keep me steady. Gaara gets back to his feet, more sand pouring out of the gourd and the redhead tilts his head up, and it looks like sand is protecting Gaara as a last defence, like armour. "That is so weird."

"It's a sand armour that seems to be protecting him if anything were to get through the sand." I muse as I watch the sand seeming to mend the armour that's protecting him, he has a crazed look on his face, with a sinister grin but seems to simmer down enough. Lee looks like he's got an idea and unwraps the bandages around his forearms before speeding around Gaara. Lee kicks up under Gaara's chin, sending him into the air, but it seems the sand is trying to keep him grounded.

"He's not floating." Sakura gasps and Lee gives a series of kicks sending Gaara higher into the air.

"What an incredible series of kicks." Kakashi-sensei comments and with a final kick, Lee wraps the bandages around Gaara and starts spinning the both of them around in the air as they gain speed.

"**Primary Lotus!"** Lee shouts as they crash into the stone tiles, they shatter from the impact of the force that Lee, smashes Gaara down, Lee jumps out seeming fine, but Gaara lies in the middle of the cracked stone tiles, unmoving, but it seems his whole body has fissures throughout his body.

"Right on!" Guy-sensei cheers for his student.

"You did it! Way to go, Lee!" Sakura and I cheer for him, but it's short-lived as pieces of Gaara fall away showing it's an empty shell made of sand.

"What the-?!" Sakura gasps.

"An empty shell!" I gasp.

"But how? When did he do it?" Guy-sensei questions.

"It was when you closed your eyes to pray." Kakashi-sensei answers. "At that moment, Lee closed his eyes, too, because of the pain. That's when he did it." A mass of sand appears behind Gaara as he's distracted by Gaara's hollow shell that's crumbling away, but he turns around to see Gaara forms under seeming more disturbed than before with that scary grin on his face. He performs a hand sign, and the sand swirls around his feet with several strands of sand, one goes for Lee, and he swats it away. But another comes in hitting him, he lands away and tries to get to his feet but looks in pain from his Lotus technique and Gaara uses that to form a massive wave of sand behind him that crashes down towards Lee, pushing him hard into the opposite wall.

"I don't get it. What's Lee doing just standing there? With his speed, he should easily be able to get out of the way of those blasts! Why doesn't he dodge them?" Sakura asks the Jonin.

"For a very simple reason. He can't dodge them." He answers her.

"Huh? Why is that?"

"The Lotus is what you might call a double-edged sword." Kakashi-sensei answers.

"What does that mean?"

"You know that it's a Forbidden Technique. Why do you think that is?" He asks, and Sakura doesn't have an answer. "The Lotus isn't Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. It's Taijutsu, requiring extreme physical effort. The strain it puts on the body is unimaginable. No one can sustain it for long. Right now, Lee is in so much pain he can hardly move at all. Isn't that right, Guy?" Sensei explains, and I look at the green-clad Jonin who looks guilty.

"But-but that means-?!" Sakura gasps and the sand retracts back to Gaara, revealing Lee, banged up with a crater behind holding his arms up as if to stop the sand. Lee dodges out of the way as the sand comes for him, he keeps rolling and ducking out of the course of the relentless attacks, not giving him time to catch his breath. Gaara straightens up, and Lee tries shielding himself, thinking that an attack is coming, but Gaara just raises his hands.

"No, Ninjutsu or Genjutsu," I whisper and take Sakura's hand in mine as we watch the sand smash into Lee, causing him to scream out in pain, but he gets out from under it and runs, the sand hits the ground behind him. Lee falls, and Gaara uses the opportunity sending sand towards Lee, smashing into him, sending him back on his front on the stone tiled floor. Lee gets to his feet still and crosses his hands out in front of his face to shield himself, Gaara chuckles as the sand lifts into the air.

"I pity the kid. Gaara will just toy with him till he begs for mercy." Kankuro comments from the end of the balcony with Naruto.

"Well then, Gaara is in for a long match, because that will never happen. Lee doesn't know how to give up." Guy-sensei remarks and the sand forms into what look like claws, spreading towards Lee and hitting him to the ground and twirling up into the air again before slamming down into Lee's back. Lee gives out a cry of pain, how is he continuing is ridiculous, he can't even really stand and is getting beaten badly by Gaara. Lee still gets back up and puts his arms out in front of him, shielding his face again as the sand circles around Gaara in a larger circle.

"He can't go on! Make him quit before he gets himself killed!" Sakura warns him but he won't, and the sand comes after Lee, who stands with a smile on his face seeming ready for the incoming attack. Lee dodges out of the way quicker than he has, it seems he has some strength left after all.

"Lee's smiling! He's running for his life, but he's still smiling." I gap as I watch Lee smiling as he dodges all of the attacks.

"Yes. But now it's Gaara's turn to run. The Leaf Village lotus blooms twice." He says, and I look at Sakura, Lee said the same thing to her.

"Lee said that to Sakura," I comment as I turn back to him.

"But… no, Guy, you didn't." Sensei worries, but what about exactly?

"Yes, Kakashi, I did," Guy-sensei answers him.

"So, that Genin that boy is able to open the Eight Inner Gates and use the Hidden Lotus?" He asks.

"That's correct."

"Well, if that isn't the most-" He stops himself in anger. "Okay, so, how many of the Inner Gates is he able to open now?"

"Five gates."

"Wait a sec, what are you talking about, what are the eight Inner Gates and the Hidden Lotus?" I ask them.

"The eight gates are like valves, or Chakra limiters, that must be opened if one is to release the Hidden Lotus." He explains, but it still leaves questions.

"I'm still not following." Sakura remarks and Kakashi-sensei pulls up his headband uncovering his Sharingan eye.

"There are gates along the Chakra network, located at those points in the body where the Chakra is most heavily concentrated. Starting at the head, they are the Gate of Opening, the Gate of Rest, of Life, of Pain, of Closing, of Joy, of Shock, and the Gate of Death. These are what are called the Eight Inner Gates. Their purpose is to limit the flow of Chakra through the body. But the lotus exerts tremendous pressure on these limiters, eventually forcing the gates open. This releases the restraints on the Chakra. The result is that a person's strength can be increased ten-fold, or more." Sensei explains.

"The Primary Lotus opens only the first gate, the Gate of Opening, releasing the brain's restraint on the muscles, freeing a person to bring its body's strength to its full extent. You've seen the results." Guy-sensei adds on.

"And the Hidden Lotus?" Sakura asks.

"At the second gate, the Gate of Rest, one's strength is increased further. At the third gate, the Gate of Life, one enters the Hidden Lotus." He explains, and we watch Lee dodge more of Gaara's assaults with his sand.

"Wait a minute, just the Primary Lotus almost destroyed him, he could barely move! What's gonna happen to him if he takes it farther?" She asks him.

"Exactly. By opening all eight gates, you could attain power beyond even the Hokage's. The only drawback is… you'd die." Kakashi-sensei drops the bombshell. "I don't know what this boy means to you, but I shouldn't have to tell you that we never bring our personal feelings into play. I wouldn't have thought you were capable of this."

"You have no right. You know nothing about him! Nothing at all! That boy has something important to prove. And he's determined to prove it, even at the cost of his life! And I am determined to help him reach his goal. Not for his sake, but because that goal is worth reaching." He responds and something drastic changes to Lee as he stands there with his arms in front of his face.

"What?!" I gasp along with Sakura as we watch, Lee changes, a force surrounds him, and his skin darkens, turning red and he has an intense feeling around him, pieces of the floor rise around him from the energy around him.

"His whole body is changing!" Sakura gasps as we watch Lee.

"He's opened the third gate, the Gate of Life. now he'll attack." Kakashi-sensei announces.

"Oh, no, not yet." Guy-sensei corrects him.

"The fourth gate, Gate of Pain, open!" Lee shouts and veins on the side of his forehead pulse and he runs, faster than anything I've ever seen. The stone tiles break under him as he runs towards Gaara and kicks him under the chin, with such force it causes a fierce blast, I cover my face as pieces of stone go flying around, we look around the arena. Still, we can't find either of them, till Gaara comes flying up out of the cloud of dust. The sand can't seem to reach Gaara fast or high enough as his armour cracks, Lee appears running towards him then appears up hovering over Gaara, he punches him with such force. The hit from Lee sends Gaara down and is met again by Lee, who hits him again, sending him up, before appearing by his side, he keeps attacking Gaara all around in the air, patting him around like a cat with a ball. Lee seems to be winning as he keeps pounding into Gaara who's armour can't seem to keep up with the intense hits. Lee hits him again in the back, sending him up and appears in front of the redhead, greenie seems to change even more as Lee disappears before appearing in a split second, punching Gaara in the stomach. Gaara goes down, but Lee stops him with holding onto the end of his sash, he pulls Gaara towards him and punches him again in his stomach the force of the hit causes another wave of dust and pieces of debris. It clears to see Gaara falling towards the ground, and lands hard, causing more destruction and Lee comes rolling out.

"Is it over?" Sakura wonders and I look down to see Gaara's gourd has turned to sand protecting him from the fall, he already targets Lee, who can barely move as he tries to crawl away, the sand shifts into a hand coming towards Gaara. The sand seeps towards Lee, who tries getting to his feet but falls as his muscles seem to be strained from the amount of force he used by opening those gates. The sand wraps around Lee's leg and arm on his left side, Lee tries to pull away, but Gaara closes his hand into a fist, and the sand rips into his flesh, and Lee falls, he looks unconscious but the sand cont coming for him. Guy-sensei jumps in just in time to keep the sand at bay, from Gaara's attack, Gaara seems as if he's in pain as he holds his head with his hands.

"But why? He failed. Why save him?" Gaara questions, he doesn't seem to understand.

"Because he's-because he's… he's my student. And also because he is precious to me." Guy-sensei answers him, and Gaara gets to his feet, the sand forming back to his gourd and he walks away.

"I quit." He states as he walks away.

"He, what?"

"He quits?" Sakura and I question.

"But it's too late for Lee. he lost the match the minute Guy intervened." Kakashi-sensei explains.

"The winner is-" Hayate begins, but somehow Lee gets to his feet, his leg shaking from the injuries and strain on his muscles, I'm shocked he's standing.

"It can't be!" Guy-sensei whispers and runs over to him. "No, Lee, it's alright. It's all over now. Anyway, you're in no condition to-Lee-oh, Lee. What have I done? Look at you, not even conscious and still determined to show the world what you can do. Lee. you've already proven it." He cries and pulls Lee into his arms, the kid is out cold. "You are a splendid Ninja."

"The winner is Gaara," Hayate announces, and Sakura jumps up on the railing.

"Lee!" She calls out as she jumps.

"Sakura!" Kakashi-sensei and I call out to her to stop her.

"There is nothing you can do for him right now. There are times when sympathetic words only make things worse." Kakashi-sensei gives her some advice, but it seems Naruto has other ideas as he jumps down from the railing and runs past Gaara towards Lee and Guy-sensei.

"Hurry, this boy needs attention," Hayate orders the medics as they run in, getting straight to work and one of them looks up at Guy-sensei.

"You're his teacher, aren't you?" The medic asks.

"I am. What is it?" He asks, and the medic stands ith a sullen look on his face.

"Will you come with me?" He walks off with the Jonin, and the medics whisper among themselves as they place Lee on the stretcher, and Guy-sensei and the other doctor talk in hushed tones, and it seems Naruto hears them and it doesn't look good for Lee as they take him away.

"It's not true. It can't be true. Easy for you to say it's over. What about Bushy Brow? What's he supposed to do now? Failure! I thought you said we could win! I thought you were gonna show how a failure can… it was all a lie, wasn't I?" Naruto shouts at the retreating forms with anger, it seems Lee will never be able to fight, the strain on his muscles and the attack from Gaara's sand, they took a toll on his body. Kakashi-sensei appears behind Naruto to silence him from saying any more.

"That's enough, Naruto." He tells the blond who smacks his hand away from his mouth.

"But, Sensei, it isn't fair. All he ever wanted was to prove himself against Sasuke and Neji." Naruto snaps.

"And maybe that's what led to his downfall. He was so fixated on that goal that he sacrificed his body, his future to obtain it. And now that goal is unattainable. But you're wrong about one thing, Naruto. It wasn't just Sasuke and Neji he was thinking of. It was you, too. That's right. He risked everything just for the hope of meeting you in combat. Remember that. " Sensei tells him and places his hand on his hair. "Be worthy of his sacrifice." Gaara disappears in his sand and appears next to the girl, Temari and I look down at Naruto and Kakashi-sensei who walks over the Guy-sensei who seems to be taking it pretty hard. Understandably.

"Guy. What I said earlier, it was out of line. I was being a self-righteous fool. I realise now that if I'd been in your shoes, I probably couldn't have stopped him either." Sensei says and looks back at the quiet blond. "Come on, Guy, let's go up. They can't start the next match with us standing here."

"Right." He answers, and they come up to join us.

"Now, then, the last two competitors. Will you please step forward." Hayate orders and Choji comes down along with Dosu. "Alright, the eleventh and final match will begin."

"You can do it!" Shika cheers Choji on.

"Fatso!" Ino fuels him, knowing that's going to rile him up.

"Okay! I'm gonna finish this match! It's only gonna take two seconds, and then I'm coming after you, Ino!" Choji rages.

"Fine, Fatso, if you want this match to end quickly I'll just win it quickly." Dosu remarks, angering Choji further.

"You're gonna go down hard, you mummified weirdo!" Seems to be thinking of a plan. "**Ninja Art! Expansion Jutsu! **Now the Hidden Leaf Style Taijutsu!" His middle expands out like a ball, and he sucks in his limbs and head, spinning in the air. "**Human Boulder!** Chubbies rule!" He goes rolling towards Dosu.

"You, alright, Choji! You can do it! Squash him good for me!" Ino cheers for him, as he rolls around, Dosu jumps out of the way, and Choji rolls right into the wall behind Dosu, who jumps away at the last second leaving Choji in the wall. Dosu uses this to attack, he punches Choji, but it doesn't go anything his arm is stuck, Dosu flicks the amplifier on his arm, which sends out a sound wave throughout his body, shaking him up. The wall crumbles away leaving Choji back to normal seemingly out of it and doesn't look like he's getting back up, that was probably the shortest fight there has been today.

"The winner is… Dosu Kinuta!" Hayate announces, and Dosu walks off as the medics arrive to help Choji who seems okay as he talks about filling his stomach and Hayate stands in the middle of the arena. "And with that match, the Third Exam Preliminaries are now finished." All of us that won walk down to the battered arena floor with the three Proctors and Lord Hokage standing in front of us. "I commend all those who have advanced to the finals for the Third Level of the Chunin Exams. Well, there's one person missing, but still, congratulations."

"And now I will begin the explanation of the Final Rounds. In the Final Rounds, each of you will put your battle skills on display. You'll demonstrate the power and control you've achieved in your respective disciplines. Accordingly, the Final Battles will commence one month from now." Lord Third announces, man that's so long away!

"Wait, we're not going to do it right here and now?" Naruto asks, like many of us are in for a fight right now.

"This is to provide a suitable period of preparation." Lord Hokage answers.

"What do you mean by that?" Neji asks.

"Simply this, in addition to announcing the conclusion of the Preliminary Matches to each country's leaders, we must also have some time to prepare and distribute the summons for the Final Selection. Not to mention that you are going to need time to prepare for something that is this important." He explains more, in his usual way.

"I don't really get what you're trying to say. What's the point of this?" Kankuro snaps.

"To know your adversaries and prepare yourselves, you need time. Even though up to this point, all the battles have been real battles, as I'm sure you can all attest, they were conducted on the premise you were fighting an unknown enemy, but that's no longer the case now that you've battled each other." He's right, whoever I'm against now, I'll know at least something about their attacks and abilities. "In order to make the Finals fair and just, we're giving you this month. Each of you must embrace the opportunity to learn some new tricks. Because by now, everyone here knows your techniques, so using your old, tired tricks is a sure-fire way to lose in the finals and remember to get some rest as well." I guess all of us are going to be working harder than before during this month. "Now, with all of that behind us, I'd like to begin winding things up. But before we can bring this to an end, there's one more important matter to take care of."

"Let's get on with it! How long do we have to wait until we start training?!" Naruto complains as always.

"In a calm, orderly fashion, all of you are going to take one slip of paper from the box that Anko is holding." He answers and the woman in front, our second Proctor holding a small yellow box.

"Everyone, just stay where you are, I'll come to you." She says and steps towards Dosu. "Just take one," She goes down the line, Naruto goes next and then me, I take one out and see I've got the number.

"Good, now everyone has one. Going from left to right, tell me the number that's written on your slip." Ibiki our first Proctor announces.

"I've got eight." Dosu answers.

"Number one, of course." Naruto answers.

"Number seven," I answer with a shrug.

"Ten," Temari answers next.

"Five" Kankuro answers after.

"Three." Gaara answers in his usual gruff voice.

"Nine." Shikamaru answers in a bored tone per usual.

"Two," Neji answers quickly.

"Six," Shino answers from the end of the line.

"And that means Sasuke will be four," Ibiki announces.

"Right. Very good, now I'm going to tell you about how the Final Selection Tournament will work." Lord Third announces that means we're most likely going to be fighting against someone with a number higher or lower than ours.

"Is that what the numbers are for, drawing lots?" Shika asks.

"Ibiki, you may reveal which Ninja have been paired up." Lord Hokage orders him, and he shows us the board in his hand.

"Yes, sir." He replies and I see I'm against Dosu, then whoever wins between Shino and Kankuro, then out of Shikamaru and Temari.

"May I ask you a question?" Shika asks, raising his hand.

"You may." Lord Third accepts.

"Alright, if this is a Tournament, does that mean there's only one winner? I mean, only one of us is going to be able to become a Chunin, then?" He asks he's got a point, out of the 10 of us left we've only got 1/10th of the chance to become a Chunin. What's the point?

"Actually, it's quite the contrary. There are going to be several judges for the Finals, including myself, the Shinobi Leaders are the Kazekage, the lords from the various countries that ultimately will be assigning your missions to you. These judges will be able to make an evaluation of your abilities. Then they'll decide whether any or all of you possess the qualities required of a Chunin. Even if someone loses the First Round, they could still become a Chunin." Lord Third clarifies, seems easy enough.

"So there's a chance that every one of us who competes in the Final Selection could become Chunin?" Temari questions.

"Correct, but conversely, there's also a chance that none of you will be chosen. The advantage in fighting more rounds in the Tournament is in getting more chances to display your talents n front of the judges who will decide your fate. Does that answer your question, Shikamaru?" He asks the boy. "I thank you all for your patience. Now let us adjourn until next month." We all leave, I don't see Kakashi-sensei anywhere. "Rio, please stay behind." Lord Third orders and I stop in my tracks, this must mean my training is about to begin already.

"Yes, Lord Hokage." I turn back around, with the others all leaving the room, I'm in the arena all alone with the three Proctors and Lord Hokage.

"Rio, it seems you've obtained a rather rare new Jutsu, and you will need to train to be able to control it." He says I clench my teeth not wanting to cry again, I look down at my feet as I clench my fists. "I know this is difficult on you Rio but think about it, if you control it you will be able to choose when using this new form of Jutsu." I know he makes sense, but I still don't want to be even more of a freak than I am now, I nod agreeing to this training, but who will be training me? I look back up to see an ANBU standing next to Lord Hokage, he has brunette hair behind his cat-like mask.

"I understand, Lord Hokage, when do we start?" I ask and look at my new Sensei.

"Straight away, pack a bag and meet me at Training Ground 5, in 2 hours." The ANBU answers and I nod, before running off out of the room, seeing Naruto and Sakura waiting for me. I walk past them, leaving them calling my name.

"Rio, wait for us!" Sakura calls out as I keep running.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

Once I walk through the front door, I run up to my room and begin packing a bag full of clothes and my herbs, I don't know what this ANBU is going to teach me, but I hope I can control this new Jutsu style and I can become stronger. Sakura walks in my room, I've been quiet the whole time on the way out of the Forest of Death, Naruto went off to find Kakashi-sensei to train him. "Rio, what's going on?" She asks.

"I've got to train for the next month, with someone to help me to control what that reptile did to me," I reply, and she sits on my bed watching me pack my bag.

"I don't want you to think you're a freak. You're so strong Rio, you're my big sister, I've always looked up to you and the others because you push through. I know that you'll push through this and become a Chunin." She tells me and attacks me in a hug, I hug her back, and we walk downstairs to explain with my parents. Let's just say they were not overly happy that I was going to be away for a month, mum was in tears and dad was close to it, but explaining and leaving out what happened that I need to train, they somewhat let me leave.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

I arrive with a minute to spare at Training Ground 5, I look around, but I don't see the ANBU anywhere. "Good, you're here." He announces himself, I look up at one of the trees to see him standing on one of the branches, still wearing his ANBU uniform but he's missing his mask, his eyes almost look fake at how doll-like they appear.

"Well, are we going to start?" I ask, and for an answer, he jumps down from the branch towards me with a raised fist.

**Done! Please don't forget to show your love or like! Hope you enjoyed reading it! DEADGIRLETERNAL OUT!**


	14. The Longest Toughest Evilest Training

The Longest Toughest Evilest Training: Live or Die! Rushes of Hope Appear!

_Chunin Exams Atc - Episode 52 - 59_

**Rio's POV**

_I arrive with a minute to spare at Training Ground 5, I look around, but I don't see the ANBU anywhere. "Good, you're here." He announces himself, I look up at one of the trees to see him standing on one of the branches, still wearing his ANBU uniform but he's missing his mask, his eyes almost look fake at how doll-like they appear._

_"Well, are we going to start?" I ask, and for an answer, he jumps down from the branch towards me with a raised fist._

I jump away from the ANBU; his fist creates a massive crater in the earth, I skid back to make some distance with him. "Hey, are you trying to kill me!" I snap at him; I jump away again as he keeps coming for me. I haven't put my bag down. "What are you doing?!"

"We're training; I want to see your skills, everything stands, Jutsu and weapons." He answers, and I get out my Naginata swirling it around, but before I can even land a hit or swing it, he punches me in the face. I go flying into the dirt; I try getting back up, but he doesn't give me the time, I smash into the ground again. I hate this; I feel weak! I don't ever want to feel that way again! I don't want the people I care about to be taken away from me because I am too weak! I can't watch as the people I care about get hurt because I couldn't save them! I won't allow it; I won't let the nightmares win!

I see him as if in slow motion about to kick me in the ribs which haven't had time to heal from my fight with Toru. I jump to my feet and punch him in the stomach, channelling Chakra into my fist, to intensify the hit, I send him back, but he catches his feet in the ground, causing him to skid to a stop. "Good," He remarks before running at me again, he jumps to kick me, I lean back to avoid the kick, but he goes in repeatedly, but this time I catch his leg, skidding my feet a little. I hit his leg away, and we exchange blows, blocking most of them till he thrusts his other hand up into my outstretched arm, I try to pull away from the pain, but he gets a hold of my throat. I kick him in the face and punch him, seeming to have the upper hand at first though he exchanges more kicks before I jump up and he tries blocking my next kick throwing him away.

I begin using hand signs as he runs towards me, but I jump back keeping my concentration in my next move. "**Earth Style! Earth Flow Spears Jutsu!"** The spikes begin penetrating the ground, directing straight to the ANBU, he flips away but as this isn't made of long-range attacks I need to think of something before my range runs out. "**Earth Style! Fist Rock Jutsu!"** Rock encases my arms, and I run at him, not giving him time to collect himself as I start swinging at him, he blocks most of my hits. I get in a few, he gets the upper hand again, punching me in the side of the head, I use my hand to steady my fall, and kick out at him, sending him to the ground.

"You're very powerful for someone so young. Kakashi was right; you have a lot of potential." He comments, and I jump back towards my Naginata before he can get to his feet, I spin it around and run towards him, swinging it around as he jumps and blocks, avoiding the blade. He jumps back and starts performing a Jutsu, but I don't recognise it, the wood begins to spread out of his arm as he raises it towards me, I stare in surprise, not able to move. I feel the hit, and smash into the ground, rolling back as I fall, I look up once I land still at the ANBU and I feel the tears swell up as I sit up, feeling my ribs smart from all the abuse from today.

"I'm not alone," I whisper, he seems to falter as he steps towards me as I let the tears fall, and look up at him as he walks towards me. "I thought I was a freak," I whisper, and he crouches down next to me, I shake my head as I fight to stop the tears. "I thought I was alone. Why am I like this?" He sits down now, and he takes out some scrolls from his weapon pouch, and I look at them, but it still doesn't make sense.

"Why don't you tell me when it began." He asks me, and I wipe away the tears as they keep falling.

"It was during the Second Exam, in the Forest of Death. After we fought against Orochimaru." I answer and look at him; he seems surprised. "I fought against him by myself after Naruto, he did something to him, making him pass out, then Sasuke was acting all scared, so I fought him next, and I lost. I got in a couple of hits, but he took out this syringe and gave me something, I don't know what it was. He told me I was going to die. I tried fighting the pain, but it was too much, and I blacked out. Next thing I remember I was standing in some clearing with Sasuke breaking that cocky Sound Ninja's arms."

"I see, it seems he used the same formula or maybe an even stronger one, with his cells inside." He mumbles to himself.

"What do you mean, his cells?" I ask, and he clears his throat.

"Do you remember any stories about the First Hokage?" He asks, and I think back to all our history lessons in the Academy.

"That he helped found the Leaf Village," I answer, but that doesn't seem to be the answer he wants.

"The First Hokage was able to use Wood Style, me along with sixty other children were taken and experimented on by Orochimaru, given the DNA from the First Hokage." He explains, and I look at him with sadness.

"He said something about the others having died. How did you survive?" I ask.

"I'm not sure; I remember being awake, that's all. I learnt to control this, instead of fearing it." I nod my head, feeling a little better now that I have someone to talk about this with, I don't feel so alone. I know I have the others, but I don't think any of them will understand fully, even if it is similar in some way but this, he understands fully.

"Can I ask what your name is?" I ask as we sit.

"You can call me Tenzo, and it's getting late, we should get some sleep." He gets up and starts forming hand signs quickly and puts his hands on the ground, suddenly out of the earth, wooden pillars shoot out, creating a house. "We'll stay here tonight." He walks inside, and I get up quickly to follow him inside.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

Inside, it looks exactly like a traditional home, something dad loves, but there isn't any furniture, but I suppose we're going to be training this whole time, there won't be time to sit around. "There are two rooms upstairs, get an early night, and we'll start at sunrise tomorrow." Tenzo informs me, and I run upstairs with my bag to one of the rooms, I think I'm going to hurt tomorrow, even more than I am right now. I lie on the floor in my sleeping bag mum got for a graduation present, it's a dark floral pattern, I place my picture of our team on my right to remind me that I'm getting stronger to help keep them all safe. I feel the days events catch up as I feel my eyes slowly begin to close, and I drift off into sleep, I hope tomorrow is better than today.

**{DAY ONE ENDS}**

**Chunin Exams Arc**

The sun wakes me up, with rays of sun shining through the window, I cringe at the brightness and sit up, I know I've got bedhead, I always do first thing in the morning. I comb through my hair as I change into something more comfortable to train in, seeing as my old clothes have rips in. I change into black shorts with a red hoodie, I bandage up my ribs along with the stab wound on my back that seems to have opened while I was asleep and the cut along my arm from the Forest of Death and my upper right thigh that has some scrapes and bruises and my ankles.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

Outside, the sun has barely been up an hour, and already Tenzo-sensei is stretching, he must be used to it by now, seeing as he's ANBU. I walk towards him as I place my weapons pouch on my leg, waiting for him to finish. "Okay, today we're going to see how far you are with your Chakra natures. But first I want to see which one you have an affinity for." He explains and holds out a piece of paper. "This is a Chakra Paper, it's made to find your Chakra affinity. They react to the slightest hint of your Chakra if the paper catches fire and burns to ash, it means-"

"Fire, right?" I guess, and he nods.

"If the paper splits in half, it means Wind. If the paper wrinkles, it's Lightning, Earth it'll turn to dirt and crumble away. And if it becomes damp, of course, it means water." He finishes, and I nod, he hands over the piece of paper, and I place it in the palm of my hand, and it begins to turn into dirt and crumbles away, I show him, and he nods, smiling. "I see, that explains your use of Earth Style. It's easy for you isn't it?"

"I guess, I mean I struggle a little with Fire, but mainly Water or Earth are the go to's," I answer and he nods his head. "I can't really do Lightning or Wind."

"Okay, we'll start with you, you using Fire Release, then Water Release as they're the ones you say you can't do as well." He instructs. "Do your most powerful." I begin forming the hand signs.

"Mi, Tatsu, U, Tora." I inhale and spit out a massive fire, towards a tree, it bursts into flames, I turn to Tenzo-sensei, and he nods, seeming impressed and I begin forming more hand signs. "Tora, Mi, Ne, Mi, Tora." I spit out a stream of water towards the ground, and it circles around me, then rises upwards, creating a massive wall of water between Tenzo-sensei and me. I release the water wall and see that Tenzo-sensei has not moved, and he seems interested.

"Okay, you've done amazing for someone so young, you could have graduated from the Academy early, why didn't you?" He asks, and I fidget with my hands.

"I didn't want to leave my sister, Sakura," I answer, and he nods, seeming to understand my reasons.

"I see, that makes sense, but you could be a Chunin by now, and I admire your love for your sister, but you should think about yourself." He advises me, and I know what he means but still.

"I know all that, but I don't want to leave Sakura, she's the reason I am strong, she's my strength, without my sister, I don't know what I'd be," I answer and he crouches down to my level and pats me on the head with a smile.

"Let's train some more, we'll only do Taijutsu, no Ninjutsu or Genjutsu." He says, and I nod. "Of course, weapons are allowed but no Naginata today," I whine a little but see the face he's making and nod quickly, man that is one horror movie scary face. "We'll do this every day, you need to make sure that in case of the event of losing your Naginata or you can't perform any Jutsu, you need to rely on your Taijutsu."

"I see, but I thought you were teaching me about this Wood Style?" I ask him, and he nods.

"I want you to be able to fight and not rely on other things, even this. I saw your fight, you think ahead, and it shows you can think outside the box, but you need to become more aware of your surroundings, that knife in your back, that was dangerous, you almost died." He explains, and I nod the whole time, he's right, I do a 100%. "So, every day we'll have a little match to see how you're doing in your Taijutsu. another with your Ninjutsu. What about your Genjutsu?"

"I hate Genjutsu." Was my answer, he chuckles at my tone, so straightforward.

"I see, but you know how to release Genjutsu?" He asks, and I nod.

"But I still hate Genjutsu, I feel like it's a little cowardly sometimes but also useful," I respond, and he chuckles again at my response.

"Let's begin." He announces, and we jump away from each other and begin our newest match.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

**3rd POV:**

Within the village at the Academy in the meeting room, all of the Jonin attend, sitting on the floor. At the front, a desk the Hokage sits that curves down and out. The Konoha Council Members Homura Mitokado on his right and Koharu Utatane on his left. "Some of you have probably already heard but… Gekko Hayate's corpse was found near Kikyo Castle-" Lord Hokage announces, and whispers begin flying around the room as they process the news of one of their own.

"What… Hayate?"

"No way…"

"That's ridiculous!"

"This has to be Orochimaru's doing." Anko snaps, angry that he would do something like this and that she couldn't stop him.

"No… we shouldn't jump to that conclusion so easily. The one Hayate was following was likely a Sound spy called Kabuto… well, Orochimaru is certainly trying to do something but-" Kakashi tries to assure Anko.

"So… we'll cancel the Chunin Exam and go after Orochimaru!?" Raido interrupts him with determination.

"No, I think not, he revealed his identity to Anko, sending us a threat not to cancel these Exams. You see, these Exams are for which all of the Ninja of the Alliance have gathered." Lord Third silences the idea.

"What does it mean?" Homaru asks him, and Lord Hokage leans forward to look back at him.

"Orochimaru possesses enough power to take down a small land on his own. He's a Ninja that probably every land has eyes on. Moreover, he conveniently holds a grudge against this Village Hidden in the Leaf. any land would desire him." He explains, having trained the serpent once upon a time.

"So could it be… that any land in the Alliance would unite with Orochimaru and betray the Village Hidden in the Leaf?" Raido argues, not wanting to believe it.

"Well, the Alliance Treaty is at the same level as a verbal agreement. As was in the former Great Ninja War." Kakashi reminds him.

"In any case, there's too little information right now. Let's end these unnecessary suspicions." Lord Hokage stops the two from saying any more.

"We've already dispatched ANBU, the Black Ops, to each land to collect information. It's dangerous to act carelessly… that could be what the enemy is aiming for." Koharu adds on.

"And besides-" Lord Third looks around the room at all of the Jonin with a smile. "_I trust all of you!" This has an effect on every one of them, having the trust of their Hokage. "When the time comes, we'll bring all the powers of the Hidden Leaf Village together and simply fight."

**Chunin Exams Arc**

**Rio's POV:**

I fall to my knees as I try to catch my breath as I look up at Tenzo-sensei who hasn't got a scratch on him, while I have a few. "Man, that's not fair, you're an ANBU, while I'm a Genin." I huff as I calm my breathing and look at the cuts, they're not even deep, he was holding back. "Hey, that's also not fair, holding back on me!"

"I didn't hold back much Rio, but I hope not to by the end of this month." He answers, and I look at him in shock and nod. "Let's begin trying to practice your Water Release Jutsu, and then we'll have a little battle, but you're only using Water Style." He takes out a scroll from his pocket and throws it at me, I catch it and see the basics of controlling your Chakra. "I take it you know how to tree climb?" He asks, and I nod. "Well, do it till you can climb all the way to the top of this tree." He does some hand signs that I don't quite catch with how fast he does them, and he places his right hand on the ground, and a tree sprouts out between us, I look up trying to find the top, but it seems impossible.

"Can you?" I counter, and he looks at me with that creepy serial killer look, and I begin walking.

"No breaks!" He yells after me, and I keep walking, I hate this, but he must have a reason.

I've been climbing this stupid tree for ages, okay about ten minutes but still, I can't see the top and I'm feeling my Chakra is at least half empty, but I see what Tenzo-sensei means, I will need massive reserves to handle high-level Jutsu.

It's now been twenty minutes of walking up the side of this tree and still no close to the top, I can't even see the top yet. I feel the last of my Chakra beginning to slip away, and my next step is my last as the Chakra in my feet disappears, I begin to fall down towards the ground at least a mile high. I try grabbing onto a branch, but they break as if frail. I get out two Kunai from my weapon pouch and dig them into the bark, slowing my descent. I come to a halt a few inches above the ground and see Tenzo-sensei sitting looking through scrolls. "I almost died, and you didn't even try to help me!" I snap and jump to the ground and stomp over to him.

"You handled it, if you're separated from your team, you only have yourself to rely on." He replies.

"Not if I make clones." I retort earning another look, "Sorry, but I got at least a mile high, so how tall is it?" I ask, and he shrugs. "That's not helpful." I walk back over to the tree and take out my Kunai, putting them back into my weapon pouch.

"Try again." He orders not looking up, and I begin again.

I fall down another three times, getting a little higher each time, but the sun is about to set, and Tenzo-sensei agrees to let me sleep to replenish my Chakra. I've gotten higher than when Sakura and I did it in the Land of Waves, but my hands ache from having to stop myself from falling to my death each time. I'm at least at 2 miles high, and I still can't see the top. "We'll stop today, as if you keep going we're going to do a little battle before bed." He begins forming hand signs, and I do as well to counter, this is so tiring.

**{DAY TWO ENDS}**

**Chunin Exams Arc**

Another day and Tenzo-sensei has me Tree Climbing again, at this very moment I've been climbing for an hour, so around 2 miles and I'm getting higher, still not to the top but at least I'm doing better. We start the day with a Taijutsu only match then Tree Climbing and after I reach the top, or fail, seeing as it was the same the last two days this the third day trying to climb the tree. Yesterday I got at least three miles high, and I could see the top, meaning this must be at least 4 miles high. Tenzo-sensei is growing harder each fight, and I ache every time, and I begin seeing the top, that means I'm at least at 3 miles, and I break into a sprint to the top. I make it to the top and jump up on the top and shout down to Tenzo-sensei. "Hey, I made it!" I run down the side of the tree all the way to the ground.

I jump in front of Tenzo-sensei as he looks up from the scrolls again, not surprised as I cross my arms in disappointment and he gets to his feet and holds out a scroll, it's a new Jutsu. "We'll start Water Walking. But I want to see if you can do this." He says, and he shows me the hand signs of the snake and I copy him. Wood swirls out of the ground as I try merging my Earth and Water Chakra, it doesn't go as well as I was hoping for, I huff as I sit on the floor. "Don't worry, my first go was not as good, you seem more in tune." He assures me, and I nod. "Let's go to the nearby river." We walk off towards the river that stretches for a few miles either way.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

I stand on the river bank, and glad I took my swimsuit and take my hoodie and shorts off, folding them before walking into the water, letting myself get accustomed to the cold temperature of the stream. I try channelling my Chakra into my feet, I stand on the water's surface and try walking, but the ever-moving water makes it difficult and I slip, falling into the water. "Cold!" I jump up and try again.

The end of the day is almost here, and I did it! I can walk, Tenzo-sensei gets to his feet, and it begins, the last fight of the day. I jump back, keeping my footing on the water, I start forming hand signs quicker than I have before. The water around my feet spins around me, and rises around me, keeping me safe, at first it looks like another Jutsu before it drops down towards Tenzo-sensei, who jumps away in time but the water creates a massive wave from the impact with the ground. I form more hand signs before the waves can calm and develop the water wall, to keep Tenzo away. "Good, Rio, very good." He compliments as he goes in for an attack.

**{DAY FOUR ENDS}**

**Chunin Exams Arc**

Another day begins, I've completed the basics for Chakra Control, and we are going to start training in my reflexes, I just need to get them down. I want to have control of this, I want to be able to understand this. I sit on the grass as I pick the daisies around and make a flower crown, as I wait for him, he's setting up a training course for the next part of my training. "Okay, Rio, let's begin." He calls me over, I put the flower crown on the top of my head and get up walking towards Tenzo-sensei to see the training course, it's intense. "We'll start off with no time limit, just to see how fast you can do it then that will be your limited time and will go down along with what Kakashi told me, you wanted to add weights, we'll do that once you reach a certain time. As your timing gets shorter, we'll add more weights and of course once that's done with I have a surprise." He says, and I don't like the way he said that.

"Tenzo-sensei, what's the layout?" I ask, and he walks through the course as he points at the sequence.

"1) Low wall, 2) stepping stones, 3) rubble, 4) tunnel, 5) dodging panels, 6) low rope, 7) ditch, 8) corridor, 9) balancing bridge, 10) window, 11) apex ladder, 12) terrace." He lists them off, and I look over all of them, seeing that it's going to take longer the first time before I can run through it.

I feel terribly bruised after this, I took about half an hour to do the whole course and badly out of breath. "Not bad for a start, once you've got your breath back go again." He tells me, and I nod, calming my breaths.

**{DAY SEVEN ENDS}**

**Chunin Exams Arc**

I jump down the last part of the training course, and Tenzo-sensei stops the timer. "Excellent, Rio, 6 minutes, time to add to the weights." That's right! My timing now is 6 minutes. I've had at least 20kg added to the weights on my arms and legs. He puts on another 5kg, and I start all over again.

**{DAY TEN ENDS}**

**Chunin Exams Arc**

"Okay, you've got over 100kg on your arms and legs, the surprise is a blindfold!" He informs me, and I back away into the low wall as he places the white cloth over my eyes and moves me to the starting line.

"I don't like this," I remark, and he claps signalling the beginning, let's say I did not make it through unscathed, but I get back up again and make it through.

**{DAY FOURTEEN ENDS}**

**Chunin Exams Arc**

I take the blindfold off and see I've finished the training course and look at Tenzo-sensei watching, he seems happy as he shows the time on the stopwatch, the same at every step. 6 minutes. I smile as he nods, meaning I'm going to start learning Wood Style Jutsu and I know it's going to be a lot of work, but that's why I'm here, to control this.

**{DAY SEVENTEEN ENDS}**

**Chunin Exams Arc**

It's been 3 weeks of training, and I've learned a few Jutsu. Tenzo-sensei won't teach me a new one unless I completely master the first, so I mean at least I have some down. We're about to start our little match before we start training in this next Jutsu as we always do every day. It's Taijutsu match in the morning, training in Wood Style Jutsu, a daily training course with more weights added and now moving pillars, then a Ninjutsu match to end the day. I get out my Shuriken and about to throw it, but Tenzo-sensei holds up his hand to stop me. "How about we use both starting today, we'll do that each morning and afternoon," He says and I nod happily and about to grab for Naginata, but he shakes his head. "No, still no Naginata, you're an expert, you don't need training in that." I nod and throw the Shuriken before disappearing into the dirt below.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

**3rd POV:**

Down further along the riverbank, Jiraiya stands in front of Naruto who claimed he was okay with risking his life, the Sage knows he needs to help the blond to correctly Summon an actual frog, and he turns around to head back into town. When suddenly a loud boom comes from the tree line to their left, with a large cloud of smoke coming up from the trees. Jiraiya keeps Naruto behind him as he hears two sets of footsteps speeding towards them, a shadow lands in front of them, a man in an ANBU uniform and brunette hair. Another shadow pops out, one figure Naruto recognises all too well. "Rio!" Jiraiya hears the boy gasp as he looks at the girl with hot pink hair, she looks young, the same age as the blond.

"You know her?" He asks the kid who nods in response. The ANBU begins forming signs, but the girl also starts as well, she kicks the water at the ANBU who blinks allowing the girl to run towards him. "She's fast." She speeds at the ANBU and coats her fist with Chakra, knocking the air out of Tenzo who goes flying towards the other males.

"Rio?!" Naruto calls out to her, and she walks to the bank of the river towards Naruto, who seems a little scared as she looks a bit different to how he remembers and she can knock an ANBU down.

"Hey, Naruto, how's training going?" She asks him with her usual sweet smile, making the blond blush.

"I-It's going great. Believe it!" He lies and earns a look from Jiraiya.

"That's good to hear, as you can see mines going great. I'll see you at the Final Exam next week, right?" She asks, and he nods, she attacks him in a hug quickly allowing Tenzo to get to his feet. "Sensei! I beat you!" She cheers as she pulls away from the blushing blond too happy to care about anything else. "See ya Naruto, bye sir." The two leave quickly up the stream and disappear out of sight.

**{DAY TWENTY-FOUR ENDS}**

**Chunin Exams Arc**

It's the final day, Tenzo-sensei wants to fight with everything I've got, I sit by the wooden house I've spent the last 26 days in, but I am glad to be sleeping in my own room along with seeing my sister and parents along with my friends. "Let's begin." I jump to my feet and run towards him, I take out a Kunai throwing it towards him, he blocks it with his own Kunai, and I jump into the air above him forming hand signs. The earth moves around his feet making him move back before spikes pierce upwards out of the soil, but I create one hand signs and wooden pillars speeds out of the earth, around him and begins moving around him, trapping him in place. The wooden posts start moving towards him, trying to crush him, Tenzo holds his hands up in defeat, and I release the Jutsu with a smile. "Good luck in the Final Exam, Rio." He says and turns away, but I run at him and hug him from behind.

"Thank you, Sensei," I whisper and run off picking up my bag on the way.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

I slam the front door wide open, probably cracking the wall, oops, mum and dad come rushing towards me with happy faces, they pull me into a hug, and I hug them back, glad to be home. "Mum, dad what was the no-?" I hear Sakura ask, but she seems to have seen me and runs to join our little hug.

"It seems you missed me." I joke, earning mum to pinch my cheek. "I kid, I kid!" She lets go, and I rub the sore cheek.

"How was your training?" Sakura asks, and I unwrap my legs showing the bruising and smile at her.

"Super, I mean learning to fight blindfolded was kind of weird but super cool," I reply, and dad pulls me into another hug. "I'm okay dad, give them a few days, and they'll be all healed up. I promise." I assure him and pull him into the kitchen with Sakura and mum behind us, and I sit at the table, telling them everything that happened during my training.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

I lie on my bed with my hand out after forming a few hand signs and a small sakura tree kind of like a bonsai tree in the short stature it's in. I get one of my many plant pots and place it inside with some soil before watering it and putting it on my windowsill. I change into my PJs and climb back into bed. Before I can drift off to sleep, I hear a knock at the door. "Rio, are you asleep yet?" I hear Sakura ask as she opens the door.

"No, what is it. twin?" I ask her, and she walks over to my raised bed.

"Can I sleep with you tonight like we used to when we were younger?" She asks, and I nod, moving over to let her climb into bed next to me, she wraps her arms around me, hugging me. "I missed you, Onee-sama." She whispers and drifts off to sleep quickly, I close mine too and join her in sleep.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

I slowly open my eyes to see Sakura still sleeping next to me, and carefully climb out of bed, trying to find something to wear. "I thought it was a dream for a moment.'' I hear Sakura say and I turn around to see her watching me with a smile.

"Nah, I'm too awesome to be in a lame dream like that." I joke, and she jumps out of my bed.

"Always the same, so are you excited for tomorrow?" She asks, and I shrug, but I know she can see the excitement in my eyes.

"Well, I would be if I had anything to wear." I sigh dramatically, and she lights up before running out of my room.

"Mum can me and Rio go out shopping then go to the hospital!" She yells down.

"Yes, once you've had your breakfast and done your chores," Mum yells back and I get changed into my training gear.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

I walk with Sakura down the street finally having some new clothes, and she looks at the shop that Ino's family owns and Ino helps out, we walk inside. Sakura goes right to a daffodil, and I pick out a bouquet of hydrangeas as Sakura was telling me about what happened last time she went to visit. Sasuke going missing means he's most likely training in secret or has been kidnapped, I'm going with the latter and Lee, he's strong for going through what he did and trying to get back to training. "If that's for Sasuke, he's not back yet," Ino announces, startling Sakura who looks about as I place the bouquet on the counter.

"Ino…" Sakura whispers, standing to her feet.

"I'm way ahead of you on Sasuke information. Missed your chance on that one, eh, Billboard Brow?" Ino tries teasing her, but we already know that.

"No! This is for Lee!" Sakura corrects her, surprising the bleach blond. "The one from before should be wilted by now too…"

"Yeah, you're right." Ino agrees, and we pay for them as she wraps the single flower for Sakura. "Here you go." She hands it over.

"Thank you." We say together taking our flowers.

"Tell him hi, and I hope he's feeling better," Ino says and we nod.

"Sure." We agree and leave for the hospital.

"Also, I heard from Shikamaru that Naruto's in the hospital too." She yells to us, and I stop, looking back, and I rush there hearing the girls laugh at my actions.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

We make it to the hospital, it seems empty, no nurses or doctors anywhere to see, and it looks eerie almost, and I notice the sign on the desk. "Where is everybody?" Sakura wonders as we walk inside.

"Out to lunch apparently," I comment and point to the sign on the desk. We sign in, I feel a chill run down my spine as if something dangerous is approaching, I turn around but find nothing there along with Sakura, seems she sensed it too, but we pick up our flowers before walking off down the hall. "Sakura, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, of course," She replies, and I nod.

"If I lose against Dosu in the match, will you be disappointed?" I ask, and she stops in her tracks.

"No, of course not, but I know you'll win. No matter what." She encourages me and takes my hand, and we walk towards Lee's room.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

Lee seems peaceful as he sleeps, they must have him on some heavy medicines to keep him so calm after what Sakura told me, and what Ino said about him never being a Ninja again, I would hate to be in his place. I take the vase from Sakura, filling it with some water from the tap, letting Sakura have a moment alone with Lee. I come back and place some of the hydrangeas with her flower and leave to go visit Naruto.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

We make it to Naruto's room, but the blond isn't anywhere to be seen, I go to place my bouquet, but I realise I left it back in Lee's room. "Sakura, I left something in Lee's room, I'll be back in a second," I tell her, leaving no room to argue as I run back to Lee's.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

I make it, calming my breathing, and open the door a crack hearing Naruto angrily snapping at someone, I open the door a little more and see Shikamaru and that redhead from the Sand Village, Gaara. "In the six years since the time when I was 6 years old, my father has tried to assassinate me more times than I can count!" Gaara says, and the look on his face is terrifying but almost sad at what he said.

"But I thought you just said that your father spoiled you… so which is it?" Shika asks the redhead, and there's a tense moment in the air between the three boys.

"Those who are too strong are apt to become feared. Born through the Jutsu, my mind was unstable… I guess the idiots in my village finally realised that I had emotional problems. For my father, Kazekage, at the same time, I was the ultimate weapon for the village, I was also a dangerous, fearsome presence. It seems I was labelled a dangerous figure as soon as I turned six. And I was treated politely simply because I was feared. To them, now I'm just a relic of the past that they want to see disappear. So what did I have in this life, why did I keep living? When I asked myself that, I couldn't find the answer. But as long as you're alive, you need a reason, if you don't have one, it's just the same as being dead." Gaara explains, and it's completely twisted, his way of thinking seems horrifying that he was almost killed multiple times from age 6 till now, no wonder the way he thinks is so twisted.

"What's this guy saying?" Shika questions and I see Naruto who seems in shock.

"So this is the answer I came to… I am living in order to kill human beings other than myself. After living in the fear of never knowing when I might be murdered, finally, I became calm. By killing assassins, I finally comprehended the reason why I live… I live fighting for only myself and love only myself… and if I see that all other people in this world exist only to make me realise that, there could be no world more wonderful. And as long as there are others to kill who can male me feel this happiness to be alive, I will never disappear." Gaara is so alone, he has such a twisted way of thinking because he was never shown what real love is or how precious life can be that it's not all filled with death and killing or hatred. He's been alone and came up with this warped way of thinking about life and the world, no wonder he seems so dead inside.

"W-what's wrong, Naruto?" I hear Shika ask and I peek to see Naruto stepping away in fear of the redhead. The sand around Gaara begins to move, even with Shikamaru's Shadow Possession Jutsu, seeing as it can on its own free will from the redhead. "Naruto! Naruto! Hey, get yourself together! Oh, man, what a drag! Naruto!" I watch in horror as the sand moves around in the air aiming for the boys.

"Now, let me feel it…!" Gaara gasps and I slam the door open and run towards the boys as someone else makes themselves known.

"Stop right there!" We all look to see Guy-sensei standing at the door. "Tomorrow's the Final Round! There's no need to rush like this!" He walks into the room, facing Gaara who's gone after his student twice now. "Or do you just want to stay here starting today?" Gaara seems to be struggling with something as he clutches to his head in pain and the sand retreats back into his gourd and he begins to leave, walking past all of us and stops at the door.

"I will… kill you all without fail. Just wait." He vows and leaves.

"Man, he has some psychological problems," I comment and walk over to the bouquet of flowers on the table and turn to the boys and Guy-sensei. "Come on Shika, Naruto, let's leave them alone." I drag the boys out.

"Rio what are you doing here?" Naruto asks, and I turn to him, thrusting the bouquet out to him.

"To visit you and Lee, of course, these are for you," I tell him and feel him take them.

"Thanks, so have you finished your training?" He asks, and I nod.

"I finished yesterday though I still have some work on that special Jutsu of mine, I think I can win my fights. Do you think you can beat Neji?" I ask him, and he nods.

"Oh, sure." He seems a little hesitant, but I have faith in him.

"I should go, I left Sakura wandering the halls, but good luck and I'll see you both tomorrow." I wave goodbye and run to find Sakura.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

It's nice sitting here at home while everyone's out celebrating around the village for the Chunin Exams Final Round, we sit with a feast as we talk and I can't help but hope Naruto is enjoying himself and about my fight against that Sound Ninja tomorrow. I eat all of my favourites that mum cooked and enjoy my time before the big competition and know I need to get a good night's sleep.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

I get up and dressed, ready for the day because today is going to be a big important one, I check over my new outfit with pinkish trousers with my new darker pink sandals as my old ones now have holes on the bottom. I pull my under pink crop top that's see-through and put the longer one-sleeved black top and place the belt for my Naginata. I set my hair in its usual place with small strands of hair in a side ponytail for luck and put my headband around my thigh. "Rio, hurry up, or we'll be late!" I hear Sakura shout from downstairs.

"I'm coming!" I shout back as I get my med bag and run out of my room.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

I stand between Shikamaru and Shino in the arena as we all stand in a line, I look around to see the stands full of people, man I'm nervous at the thought of all of these people judging me. Everyone is here apart from Sasuke and Naruto, we stand behind another Jonin, seems Hayate isn't here, no idea what happened. I hear a yell, I turn around with the others to see Naruto skidding towards us, looking a little out of it.

**Sorry, it took so long, but here it is. DEADGIRLETERNAL OUT!**


	15. Byakugan! Ultimate Defence! True Power

**Byakugan! Ultimate Defence! True Power, It Gets Complicated! Zero Motivation For Dancing Sand**

_Chunin Exams - Episode 60 - 65_

**Rio's POV:**

I stand between Shikamaru and Shino in the arena as we all stand in a line, I look around to see the stands full of people, man I'm nervous at the thought of all of these people judging me. I look around and see everyone is here apart from Sasuke and Naruto, and another Jonin, as Hayate isn't here, but I have no idea what happened to him. I hear a yell; I turn around with the others to see Naruto skidding towards us, looking a little out of it. I walk over to him with Shika trying to get him to his feet as he snaps out of it. "Hmm? Wait, where's Sasuke?" Naruto asks as he looks around the arena.

"No idea, he's been gone all month," I inform him.

"Hey, you guys over here. Throw out your chests and show your faces to the spectators." The Jonin instructs us, and I hear the audience cheering and clapping for all of us. "You guys are the stars of this 'Final Round'."

"Everyone, thank you very much for coming to the Village Hidden in the Leaves, Chunin Selection Exam! We will now begin the 'Final Round' matches for the ten who made it through the preliminaries! Please stay and watch until the end!" Lord Third announces from the main stand where he stands by the railing along with the Kazekage and the crowd cheers and claps again.

"I have something to tell you before the match." The Jonin in front of us announces and takes out a piece of paper, it's the same one from before about our matches. "Look at this. Check who you'll be facing one more time."

"Er… question?" Naruto asks, raising his arms up.

"What?"

"Umm… Sasuke still hasn't come. What'll happen?" He asks, and he's got a point.

"In case a competitor does not arrive by the start time of his match… he or she will lose by default." I look over at Gaara in the corner of my eye. He has a hidden smirk on his face, I hope he hasn't done something to Sasuke, but then I think Sasuke is off somewhere training. "Listen up, you guys. The terrain is different, but the rule is that there are no rules, the same as in the Preliminaries. The matches will continue until one or the other dies or acknowledges defeat. However, if I judge that it has been settled, 'll stop the match there. Arguments will not be allowed. Understood? So the first match is… Naruto Uzumaki. And Neji Hyuga. Just those two remain, and the rest of you go to the waiting room." I walk off with the others and look over my shoulder to watch Naruto. I know he can win, he doesn't give up, and he takes his word seriously, he'll avenge what that punk did to Hinata.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

I sit on the floor in front of the railing with the others in the waiting area as we all watch below, the match between Naruto and Neji. "You seem like you want to say something." Neji comments and I watch Naruto holding his arm out again as he did before when he promised to get back at Neji for Hinata.

"I said it before, too, didn't I? I'll win, no matter what!" Naruto snaps at him, he seems calm.

"That makes it more worthwhile for me." Neji chuckles and gets into a fighting stance. "I look forward to your look of disappointment when you know the true reality."

"Stop whining." Naruto unleashes a surge that creates a ring of dust around them and the blowback breezes around them towards the rest of us. "Let's… get started!"

"Now, then, Round One." The Jonin announces and gives a pause to create the drama. "Begin!" the crowd breaks out in cheers, and the boys seem to be studying each other as they keep staring at each other for too long. I hope Naruto has a game plan on how to avoid what happened to Hinata, happening to him. Neji slides his foot forward a sliver, and Naruto seems to have a plan as he throws three Kunai towards Neji, he catches the first one with the end circle of his own Kunai, deflecting the others and goes in for a frontal attack. That won't work!"

"Idiot! Why would anyone attack from the front?!" I hear a faint shout from the stands, sounds like Kiba. He's not wrong, as Neji throws away the Kunai as Naruto swings at the brunette who deflects it with an open palm hand to his other side, down to the ground, Naruto catches himself and goes into kick Neji but spins away, going in again. Naruto keeps trying to punch Neji, but he dodges out of the way, Naruto doesn't give up as he goes in for more punches, but Hyuga blocks him with each other blow, it's a blur. Naruto tries kicking him, but Neji slaps his foot away, but the blond jumps up going for another kick though Neji dodges out of the way. He lands and goes for another hit, but it's a bad idea.

"No! Naruto!" I hear Sakura cry out as Neji comes in as Naruto tries throwing a punch, Neji gets him with his Chakra, stunning the blond before he goes in again with the same attack he did with Hinata. "The opponent can see your Chakra points!" Neji goes in again with two fingers, trying to cut off Naruto's Chakra point in his shoulder, the blond goes down and rolls away to avoid the hit. Naruto sits up, holding his shoulder that almost got hit, he needs to be more careful.

"You understand, right? You have no way of winning." That arrogant guy announces he's too arrogant as if he's already won.

"Heh. All I did was to verify your power." Naruto replies and gets to his feet.

"Such a Naruto thing to do," I mutter and smile, shaking my head.

"The real fight is just getting started!" He uses his trusted Jutsu, which will stall Neji for some time I hope. "**Shadow Clone Jutsu!"** He creates four clones, and he hangs back as they all get out a Kunai at the ready.

"But there's only one real one, after all." Neji scoffs in his usual arrogant tone.

"Heh. don't be acting tough!" He and his clones reply with a grin.

"If you're going to come, then come." He tries baiting the blond.

"Hry! Don't… you… underestimate… me!" The blonds all say and the four at the front run towards Neji, who uses the two to jump over them, the other two running from either side. He pushes them away, and the fifth Naruto runs towards him, kicking up almost clipping Neji in the chin, but the brunette jumps away making it look as if he was hit. Neji flips away and lands away at a safe distance.

"Damn, almost." I mutter as we all watch from the waiting area.

"Dang it. I'll get you next time!" Naruto curses and two of them run towards Neji going at either side of him, he jumps into the air, spinning as they get closer kicking them away, and they disappear into a puff of smoke. The other two go in from behind, Neji pushes them in front of him, they turn stunned, and he thrusts his hands into their stomachs, pushing them into the air and they go flying towards Naruto, landing on either side of him before disappearing into the smoke. "Does he have eyes behind him?" Neji walks over to the remaining Shadow Clone and picks it up, allowing it to puff into smoke.

"You're going to become the Hokage? With this level, it's impossible. I can generally tell with these eyes… intrinsic abilities are set. Figuratively speaking, everything inherent about people is set." Neji speaks, and it's only going to drive Naruto further into kicking him to the dirt, he's only going to make Naruto try even harder to make his dream come true.

"Why… Why are you always so judgemental like that?" Naruto snaps at him.

"Then… are you going to say that anybody can become the Hokage… if they just work hard?" Neji tries to anger and discourages Naruto. "Only a very small percentage of Shinobi are chosen to be the Hokage! Look more at reality! Those who become the Hokage are born with a destiny. It's not something you become by trying to become it. It's determined by destiny. People must live within their different respective currents that can't be defied. The one single… destiny every has equally… is death." If we all have a destiny, then it's Naruto's to become Hokage, I just know it.

"So… so what?" Naruto snaps at him and holds his fist out at the brunette. "I don't know when to give up! **Shadow Clone Jutsu!"** He creates dozens of clones and runs towards the brunette, who fights them, the clones seem to be doing okay, but Neji is holding up against them.

"I told you I'm not such a fool, didn't I?" He runs through the crowd of Naruto, singling out the only one that's holding back and thrusts his arm out, hitting Naruto in the chest. "That is the body that has the least attack due to its fear of having Chakra points attacked. The more you attack, the more that one body becomes clearly evident." Naruto coughs up blood, I grip onto the bars in worry as the clones begin disappearing. "You're the real one." More of the clones keep disappearing as Neji steps away and Naruto falls into a crouch. "I said it was pointless." I stand up, and Shika places a hand on my shoulder, stopping me from beating on Neji, and I hear Naruto chuckle.

"I've been telling you not to frivolously assume things." He warns the brunette and looks up with a smirk with blood dripping down the side of his mouth before disappearing, it was a clone.

"It can't be." Neji seems worried as two of the remaining Narutos jump up behind him, and they aim for him.

"All right! Go, Naruto!" I hear Kiba scream from the stands, seems okay with losing now, that's good.

"I've been striking from the beginning, prepare for an honourable death! Believe it!" Naruto shouts as he tries landing a punch, but something seems to halt his fist from making contact as Neji turns away. Chakra seems to incase around Neji pushing the two away from him, and he spins on the spot, throwing them away, landing hard on the ground. The last clone disappears, and only Naruto remains as the debris slowly disappears around Neji and he stands straight turning to face the fallen blond. A crater is left behind from his defence manoeuvre, it's strange, I've never seen anything like it before. "W-what was that?"

"Did you think you'd won?" Neji smirks down at Naruto who gets back on his feet.

"You punk. Don't make a fool of me!" Naruto creates six clones, and they spread out around Neji who gets into a stance with a handout and spins around again, throwing the blonds around, causing the clones to disappear. "Dang it."

"This is the end. You're within the area of my Eight Trigrams." The brunette gets into another fighting stance. "**Gentle Fist Art. 8 Trigrams 64 Palms."** He gets into a crouch with his arms out front to back before running at Neji. "**8 Trigrams… 2 Palms!"** He hits into Naruto's upper and lower chest, but Naruto has no time to recover as Neji keeps going in. "**4 Palms. 8 Palms. 16 Palms. 32 Palms. 64 Palms!"** Neji finishes his assault, leaving Naruto to crash to the ground, the Proctor walks slowly towards the two to call off the match, but I know Naruto he's going to get back up.

"It's over." He comments and Naruto tries getting to his feet but falls.

"I pressed the 64 Chakra points all over your body. You can't even stand." Neji stands over Naruto as he tries to get up. "Are you frustrated? Kneeling down before power that can't be changed and knowing your powerlessness. Your dreams will come true if you just work hard. That's just an illusion."

"Come on Naruto, get back up." I mutter as I watch him struggle to get to his feet, like the goofball he is, he gets up when it's impossible, and I can't help the shout of joy watching him back on his feet.

"He-no way." Neji seems even more shocked. Hopefully, he'll be thrown off by this.

"I told you, didn't I? I don't know when to give up." Naruto reminds him, and I shake my head at the blond.

"No way. Stop already. It'll be the same, even if you fight more than this. I don't have a grudge, particularly against you." Neji comments but Naruto doesn't care.

"S-shut up… even if you say so I have something against you." Naruto tells him, I know he's talking about Hinata.

"What are you talking about?"

"Why? Here you're this strong… why did you, with a look like you've seen through it all, go after Hinata mentally who was trying so hard?" Naruto demands an answer.

"It has nothing to do with you." Neji refuses to answer.

"Mocking Hinata, selfishly labelling her a failure as you please. Head family, branch family… I don't know what happened to you. But I don't forgive the jerk who'd call another person a failure."

"Okay… fine. If you insist, I'll tell you about the Hyuga's destiny of hatred. In the Hyuga head family, there's a secret Ninjutsu that's been passed on from generation to generation. That is the Curse Mark Arts." Neji begins to explain.

"Curse Mark Arts." Naruto echoes.

"The Curse Mark represents a bird in a cage… and it's a mark of those who are bound to a destiny they can't escape." Neji takes his head protector off, and I see a mark in green across his forehead, it's two lines that curve up and down on either side of a cross in the middle of his forehead.

"W-what?! T-that mark?"

"One day, when I was four years old, this accursed mark was inscribed on my forehead with the Curse Mark Arts. A large ceremony was held in the Village Hidden in the Leaf on that day. It was also the day when the head Ninja of the Land of Lightning, the land that the Leaf had fought with for many years, came for the conclusion of the allied treaty. However, there was one clan who didn't attend the ceremony that was attended by everybody else, from Leaf Jonin to Genin. It was the Hyuga Clan, and it's because that day was the day of hope when the head family heir was to turn three. Hinata's third birthday!" He turns and looks into the stands, probably for Hinata or her father. "My father, Hizashi Hyuga, and Hinata's father who's over there, Lord Hiashi Hyuga, were twin brothers. However, Hinata's father, Lord Hiashi, is the eldest son of the head family born into this world first. And my father, who was the second son is a member of the branch family. When the head family heir grew and became three years old… I had the Curse Mark imprinted on me, and I became the bird in the cage. And became the Hyuga branch family."

"Why's it necessary to do something like that?" Naruto asks him. "Why separate into a head family and a branch family? What does that weird mark mean?"

"This mark on my forehead isn't just a decoration. This Curse Mark is the absolute fear called death, so to speak, that was given to the branch family by the head family. The Secret Sign that the head family members form easily destroys the cerebral nerves of those in the branch family. Of course, killing is easy. And this mark only goes away at the time of death. Sealing away the power of the Byakugan. The Hyuga family possesses the most distinctive Kekkei Genkai. There's no end to those who target the secret of that distinctive power. In other words, this Curse Mark keeps the branch family alive only to protect the head family and does not allow disobedience. And it's an effective system created to defend for eternity the Kekkei Genkai called Byakugan. And then, that incident occurred." It seems whatever happened hurts Neji, I feel horrible about the things I say about him but still the way he treats Hinata isn't any better. "My father was killed by the head family. One night, Hinata was snatched up by someone. At that time, Lord Hiashi immediately rushed off and killed the abductor. Who do you think that person was, who was in the shadows and also wearing a mask? It was the head Ninja of the Land of Lightning who had just completed the allied treaty. It was clear that he came targeting the secret of Byakugan from the start. However, the Land of Lightning exploited the killing of their own Ninja due to a botched plan… and set an outrageous condition in violation of the treaty with the Hidden Leaf. Naturally, things got worse and worse, and there was almost a war between the Leaf and the Lightning. However, the Leaf who wanted to avoid war made a deal with the Lightning."

"A deal?" Naruto asks him, and everyone else listening too.

"The Lightning demand was the body of the Hyuga head family who possesses Byakugan the Kekkei Genkai. In other words, the body of Lord Hiashi. And the Leaf accepted the condition. And war was safely avoided." If that's true then, why is Hinata's father still here, unless… "Thanks to my father who was killed as a body double of Hiashi Hyuga, to protect the head family! Other than dying, there's no other way to escape this accursed Curse Mark. Even though they were twins with nearly equal power, their destinies were already set by who was born first and born later. And then, this match… your destiny was decided at the point when I became your opponent. Your destiny is to lose to me. For sure." Neji seems to bury his feelings and covers them with his usual arrogant self.

"You don't know until you try!" Naruto snaps at him and seems to be doing a little worse for wear as he keeps having to catch his breath, and Neji puts his headband back on. "Your father was killed a long time ago, and I don't know the extent of the pain you've felt, but it's a huge mistake for you to think that has determined your entire destiny!"

"You're hopeless." Neji comments as he flattens the back of his head and activates his Byakugan before running towards Naruto, smacking him in the chest, pushing him away, Naruto tumbles to the ground with a yelp of pain. "Proctor, it's over. You failure."

"Don't… run away." Naruto gasps out as he shakily gets to his feet, holding his chest. "I won't… run. I'll… stand by my own words. That's my Ninja way!"

"I think I've heard that line before." Neji smirks, and Shika holds onto my shoulders, stopping me from jumping down to punch that smug Hyuga again.

"You with your destiny stuff… I won't lose to a jerk with cold feet like you, no matter what!" Naruto argues with his whole heart.

"A brat who knows nothing shouldn't lecture arrogantly! People are born burdened with an inherent destiny that they cannot defy. You can't possibly understand the destiny of being burdened with a mark that cannot be wiped off for life!" Seems Naruto hit a nerve, but I know Naruto for whatever reason was hated by everyone in the village and didn't really have any friends growing up. Still, he seems to understand better than Neji could possibly know himself.

"Yeah. I do understand it. So… what of it?" Neji seems even angrier at Naruto.

"This brat!"

"Don't be acting cool. It's not just you whose special! Hinata was also suffering the same as you! Even though she's the head family, not being acknowledged as such, trying desperately to change herself… she fought you while coughing up blood with that in mind! You too! The branch family that protects the head family, doing all that to Hinata just because it's an exam. In actuality, you were just as frantic in attempting to go against destiny, right?" Naruto scolds Neji a little, but he makes his point.

"Your 64 Chakra points are now shut. How are you who can't use Chakra for a while? Planning to fight? At the end of the day, you and Hinata have the same destiny." Neji baits Naruto more, and even with no Chakra, the blond won't give up for anything.

"Shut up… with your Byakugan, labelling people and talking like you understand!" Naruto growls.

"Then… show me whether what you're saying is true or not."

"I will! I'll defeat you no matter what and prove that to you!" Naruto seems to have thought of something, and he closes his eyes, something seems to change.

"This is as far as the talking goes. Proctor, I'm going to fight with the intent to kill him! If you're going to stop me, please feel free." Neji is overconfident even the Proctor seems surprised then Naruto makes a hand sign trying to channel Chakra. "Didn't I tell you it is pointless?" Naruto lets out a shout. "It's futile, I pressed the Chakra points." But Naruto still keeps going. "Why do you try to go against your destiny that much?"

"Because I was called… a failure!" Naruto growls and something changes as Naruto begins producing Chakra, but it's not normal, and whatever Neji can see with his Byakugan seems to scare him. The force of the new Chakra coming from Naruto is creating a strong force, with debris flying around and Neji has to shield himself.

"Here I go!" I watch Naruto, it seems almost familiar to when he fought with Orochimaru in the Forest of Death, Naruto disappears with his newfound speed and flies into the air, Neji turns in time to see Naruto in the air above him with a Shuriken in hand, he throws them towards the brunette. Neji uses the same move from earlier and spins on the spot, using the force and Chakra to repel the Shuriken.

"**Rotation!"** He stops and collects the Shuriken and takes his own out as Naruto lands on the side of the arena wall before jumping down towards the brunette, who throws the Shuriken at the blond who disappears before they can hit. "What?!" The Shuriken embeds itself into the wall, as Naruto appears next to Neji. Throwing a punch but he dodges out of the way. The boys both get out a Kunai knife, throwing it at each other, the Kunai clash as they skid along the ground from jumping back, and they jump back towards each other, grabbing the Kunai clashing again in the air. They land on opposite ends, skidding to a stop.

"Okay, you! You're confident in close combat, right?" Naruto runs towards Neji, he steps hard crushing a hole in the ground as he runs towards Neji. "I don't know what the Hyuga destiny of hatred is! But if you're going to say it's futile, you don't have to do anything! After I become the Hokage...I'll change the Hyuga Clan!" The two Chakras clash as Neji tries to use his Rotation technique and it creates a massive bang, dirt and debris clouds the small area, but it's big even shaking the arena from the impact. The cloud of dust soon begins to clear, and there are two smoking holes in the ground, an arm suddenly pops out the hole closer to the Proctor, and Neji climbs out not looking so good. Neji walks over to the other hole where an unconscious Naruto lies, something doesn't sit right with me.

"Failure, hey. Sorry, but this is the reality. Now this is really the en-" Before Neji can finish his rubbish, there's a crack from under his feet, he looks down and out pops Naruto, he uppercuts Neji on the chin sending him flying onto the ground. "My body…" The unconscious Naruto disappears, showing a hole, that the blond tunnelled with his own hands. Naruto catches his breath before walking over the Hyuga who can barely move. "In those conditions, you used the Shadow Clone Jutsu just like that, the Ninjutsu that you're good at, huh? I was careless." Yeah, should have seen Naruto before, he could barely make one clone in the Academy.

"I've… failed the graduation exam three times. As luck would have it, the Ninjutsu tests that appeared on the graduation exam were always… infallible the Ninjutsu I stunk at. Clone Jutsu was the Ninjutsu I stunk at. Don't be whining about boring stuff like destiny and whatnot, and how it can't be changed! Because unlike me, you're not a failure." Naruto tells him, and I can't help being proud of him even more than before.

"Winner of this match is Naruto Uzumaki." The Proctor announces, and the crowd breaks out into cheers, and I clap, jumping on the spot happy for the win.

"Yeah, go Naruto!" I cheer as everyone claps.

"That was awesome!"

"Well done!"

"That was a great fight!" The crowd all applaud, and it seems to settle on Naruto as he gives them a goofy grin and a peace sign.

"Yay!" Naruto cheers and runs around seeming fine after his tough match, and seems to be glowing in the praise coming from the crowd.

"He won. Is it for real?" Shika complains as we watch the goofball prancing around the arena. "I thought he was the same as me, in the 'not going anywhere class'…"

"Not going anywhere?" Shino asks him.

"Now people are squealing… looks like he's part of the group that's going somewhere. Maybe I couldn't beat him… this is really bad. It kinda depresses me…" Shika sulks a little and I watch the medics take Neji off on a stretcher, guess it's poetic seeing as after his last fight it was Hinata. I watch Naruto runs up towards the stairs, and I run to the stairs waiting for him, the second his feet step on the landing, I jump at him, hugging him as he laughs.

"I knew you could do it!" I squeal as I hug him, he doesn't hug me back, so I pull away to see him blushing, and I pull him over the railing with Shino and Shikamaru, who both congratulate him too. Everyone in the crowd seems to be getting restless on the wait for Sasuke and Gaara's fight, seeing as the Uchiha isn't here yet, meaning he'll be disqualified if he doesn't show up soon or we'll have a riot on our hands.

"That guy… What in the world is he doing?! Is he planning not to show up?" Shika wonders.

"A wise man never courts danger… a wise judgement… is it?" Shino gives out a questioning answer.

"What are you saying? He'll definitely come! Believe it!" Naruto states with absolute faith and shares a look, I see him staring at Gaara who looks back at the blond and Shika looks worried Naruto is going to start something.

"He better get here soon, if he misses another match I'm going to hit him when I see him." I grumble as I lean on the railing. "Naruto give me your hands." I instruct him, and he holds them up, and I begin bandaging his fingers that are bleeding from his tunnelling.

"Yeah, sure." Shika remarks, not seeming to believe me.

"I slapped him, remember, he's getting a punch in the gut if he misses me beating Dosu." I reply and smile, waving at Dosu as he stands in the corner away from the rest of us. I see a Jonin appear in front of the Proctor and they talk for a few seconds before he disappears again.

"Everyone! The candidate for the next battle has not arrived here! We'll briefly postpone this battle and start the following battle ahead of it." The Proctor announces, and it seems to settle the rowdy crowd, and even Naruto lets out a sigh of relief.

"That's good…" Naruto seems happy about that, guess he wants to fight Sasuke more than anything.

"Hey! That means my match is two matches closer! What a drag!" Shika complains, and I jump on the spot in excitement.

"Then, on to the next pair" The Proctor announces. "Kankuro and Shino Aburame! Come down!"

"Proctor!" Kankuro calls out after a moment. "I withdraw!" I look over with the others in surprise, is he for real? Shino doesn't seem all too happy about this either, and even the Proctor looks surprised.

"What?"

"I withdraw! Please advance to the other matches!" He announces, and it doesn't go over well with the crowd.

"Due to Kankuro's abstention, Shino Aburame wins by default!" The Proctor announces, and the crowd begin to rowdy again, shouting their displeasure. Dosu jumps through the gap and lands on the ground with a boom probably using one of his Sound Jutsu, and I smirk as I begin walking down the stairs.

"Guess it's my turn! Well, don't want to leave them waiting." I comment as I descend the stairs and place Kunai and Shuriken around my body with a grin.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

**3rd POV:**

"And you are?" Genma asks the Sound Ninja as the dust clears and the audience settles down.

"Dosu, it's my rematch against that pink girl." He replies and Genma nods in response.

"Very well then, we'll begin the next match. Hey yo-" He looks up, but he doesn't see the girl and looks at the stairwell entrance as he hears footsteps and out steps Rio with a big smile on her face as she walks over, taking out her Naginata and spins it around letting it assemble before thrusting it into the ground.

"Ready when you are, I won't even use my Naginata." Rio smirks and turns to Genma.

"The next match is against Dosu Kinuta and Rio Haruno… begin!" he announces, and Dosu jumps back as Rio reaches into her weapon pouch, she plays it as if searching for something giving Dosu a feel of comfort as he runs towards her. As he punches into the ground creating a loud bang, and debris goes flying, clouding the arena.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

Sakura watches in fear for her twin next to Ino and now Choji who joins them with a bag of snacks. "Rio!" Sakura calls out as everyone else in the crowd watches, and the dust begins settling, Dosu stands alone in the arena with a hole from his attack, and Genma stands a safe distance away. Sakura falls into her seat in relief for her sister, but she wonders where she could be.

"Man, Rio sure knows how to scare us." Ino complains but is happy her friend is okay.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

Tenzo watches from behind the crowd at the top of the stand and sighs in relief, having grown fond of the pinkette and sees something moving within the tree close to the Sound Genin and a strand of pink hair peeking out.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

Naruto watches with Shino and Shikamaru, his hands gripping the railing hard, causing his knuckles to turn white as he searches the area for Rio, but he can't see the pink-haired girl he likes. "There she is." Shikamaru sighs in relief and points over at a tree by Dosu and Naruto follows it to see a wisp of pink hair blow in the wind and sighs in relief too.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

Rio makes a few hand signs quickly before stepping out from behind the tree and throws a set of Shuriken at Dosu who easily deflects them with his amplifier. "Man, I thought that would work." Rio dramatically jokes and walks into the light with a grin on her face. "Oh well, I guess I could do this." She places her hands on the ground. "**Earth Style: Golem Jutsu!" **The ground begins to shake and out forms a head bigger than the last time Rio performed the Jutsu and out rises the Golem taller than the arena walls. "I think I may have overdone it." "_This should be easy, all Dosu will do is attack and shatter Abella before she can do any real damage then it's time for that." _

**Chunin Exams Arc**

"Man, are we sure she's a Genin?" Izumo comments as him and Kotetsu watch the match.

"I don't know, but it seems like she's going to win." He replies, but Dosu does exactly what Rio predicted and smashes into the leg of Abella, the hit amplifies and shatters the leg. Abella and Rio go falling towards the ground, Rio fakes a scream as the rubble kicks up more dust, clouding the arena again.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

The dust clouds clear after a few moments and it appears Rio is flying under the rubble of her fallen Golem, Genma slowly walks towards the figure but stops when Dosu lets out a yelp of pain from behind him. He turns around to see Dosu holding his shoulder with blood pooling around the wound, a Kunai sticking out of the back of his shoulder and Rio stands there with a smirk as she runs towards Dosu now only able to use his right arm. "Come on, Dosu, I thought this was a rematch." Rio speeds to the left and stops, cracking the ground at the force before jumping towards him, his reaction is slower due to only having motion in his right arm. Rio slices him in the left leg as he's too slow and she spins in the air, smacking into the side of his head, and he goes down. "You're making this too easy, I was hoping for a better fight." Dosu gets up, angrier than before and runs towards her and thrusts his good arm towards her in the stomach, a sickening crack echoes through the stadium.

"Don't get so cocky little girl." Dosu spits.

"I'll remember that." Rio replies from behind him as she appears from the ground, the one in front of him turns to stone and falls apart. Rio stands as Dosu turns around facing her and goes to smack her in the side of the head, she kicks up, blocking him but he uses his frequency to mess with her ears, but she doesn't seem affected and uses her leg to kick his leg down along with his body to the ground. Rio smashes down her foot onto the top of the amplifier and keeps stomping on it till it cracks and breaks into pieces. "Not so tough without it are we?" Rio kicks Dosu in the side onto his front before performing hand signs some have seen before. "**Wood Style: Tree Bind Flourishing Burial." **Roots begin to spread around Dosu and spread up, creating a sakura tree in full bloom. "Man, lucky I mastered that one, I mean three Wood Style Jutsu seems to be enough for now." Rio mutters to herself and kicks the trunk of the tree, causing a branch to fall down, and there's a thud sound as it hits Dosu on the head.

"Dosu is unable to continue, the winner is Rio Haruno." Genma announces, and the crowd breaks out in cheers.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

"I never thought I would see someone with the infamous Wood Release." Lord Kazekage comments and looks at Lord Hokage who looks as surprised as him.

"I am as surprised, but Rio Haruno has always seemed to have surprises in store for everyone. And it's almost like fate for her to obtain this gift." Lord Third replies and smiles as he watches the pinkette take her Naginata out of the ground.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

"Seems Kakashi has some interesting students this year." Asuma comments as he watches the girl disassemble her Naginata as she walks towards the stairs.

"Indeed. I'm surprised she didn't use her Naginata, I heard from Hinata she's an expert, so why not use it?" Kurenai questions and sees the girl taking out Kunai and Shuriken she hid within her clothes.

"Seems she had a plan from the start and probably didn't want to rely on something that can easily be taken away." Asuma assumes.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

"Man, Rio always surprises me!" Ino cheers as she jumps out of her seat clapping.

"Yeah." Sakura replies feeling a little down but happy that her sister is okay and won her match but that she couldn't make it to the Final Rounds like the other three.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

**Rio's POV:**

I walk up the steps to see Naruto jumping up on the spot at the top of the steps, and he attacks me in a hug like I did after his match, I hug him back happily. "That was awesome, Rio. Believe it! I remember you using that Jutsu before, but it seems almost better this time! And that Golem of yours was huge!" Naruto exclaims as he pulls away from the hug.

"Yeah, Abella can be much bigger if I have a larger source of earth than I did back at the Preliminaries, but still I am glad my plan worked for the most part." I smile and walk over to the railing. "Looks like it's your turn Shika." Temari gets out her metal fan and creates a gust of strong wind, I cover my face, and she hops onto the fan, sailing down towards the Proctor.

"You are…?" He asks her, not seeming impressed.

"It's my turn, isn't it?" She replies as she leans on the fan.

"It seems that you're really fired up. Okay, let's go to the next match. Hey! The last one, come down!" He yells up to Shika who's not happy about his match.

"Hey! Hey! What are you doing, frivolously building things up? I mean, why does my match have to be next? This is such a drag." He complains as usual and panicking a little.

"Shikamaru Nara! You!" The Proctor yells seems to be growing frustrated, and Naruto pats him too hard on the back.

"C'mon! Shikamaru, fight hard!" Naruto cheers and pushes him over the railing, and he topples over the edge, landing on the ground below with a thud, not looking too happy with Naruto.

"Naruto! Shika, are you okay?" I call down as the crowd grows frustrated and begin throwing rubbish towards Shika as he lies on the ground.

"C'mon!"

"Hurry up with the match!"

"Finish it up already!"

"Stand up and start the match!" Shika still seems unmotivated, and everyone is not happy.

"What? You're giving up, too?" Temari teases him, and he looks at her. Guess he doesn't want to fight a girl, he's such a pain.

"Hey, why aren't you moving?!"

"C'mon, get started!"

"C'mon! What is he doing?!" Naruto shouts in my ear. "C'mon Shikamaru! Get it together and do it!"

"If you don't come, I'll go!" Temari grows impatient and runs towards Shika.

"Hey! I didn't start the match yet!" The Proctor yells, but she doesn't listen as she runs at Shika who gets out two Kunai knives. She swings down creating a loud bang from the metal fan hitting the ground, and a cloud of debris and dust makes it hard to see where Shika is, but once it clears he is standing on the two Kunai in the wall, above Temari.

"It doesn't really matter if I become a Chunin or not. But there's no reason why a man should lose to a woman. Well… let's do it!" Shika seems to have a plan, and it riles up Temari as she swipes her fan at him creating a gust of wind picking up more dust, but as it clears, Shika is gone and hidden behind a tree out of the way. Temari seems calmer now as she stands and Shika is as usual unmotivated as he stares at the clouds probably regretting becoming a Ninja again.

"Go! Shikamaru!" Ino shouts from the stands, but Shika still doesn't move, I hope he's thinking of a plan, and that's why he's taking so long.

"Get it together! C'mon Shikamaru!" Naruto yells out to him, Shikamaru stands up straight with a grin which riles up Temari who swings her fan creating a dangerous gust of wind towards Shika, the wind slices parts of the tree even though a branch. I cover my face as the strong wind blazes around the arena, even creating a cloud of dust and out of it comes Shika's Shadow Possession Jutsu, speeding towards Temari. She flips back trying to escape the shadow, she steps back as it keeps coming, but she falls back a little, and it reaches it's point and falls back, she swipes her fan in the ground, marking the ground. Seems she's smarter than I thought at first. She knows that's as far as he can reach, but he better have a plan, or he's toast.

"Almost got me! Aren't you clever? With that Shadow Possession Jutsu of yours, you can manipulate any shadow your in. The wall's shadow, for instance, but there's a limit isn't there? No matter how thin you stretch it, it'll only reach so far. Isn't that right?" Temari realises.

"Yeah, we already know that." I huff as I watch the match.

"You got it…" Shika admits, and he looks up to the clouds again, waiting for the length of the shadow to get longer the lower the sun goes down, and then he does his little tick, he's thinking up his next move and then some.

"Bout time, this is going to be epic." I grin.

"What'd you mean Rio?" Naruto asks, looking confused.

"Well, Shika is wicked smart, and he has a tick when he's thinking, he does it when we play go, and I'm winning." I reply, and Naruto still looks a little confused. "See what he's doing with his hands, he does it to focus his mind, he's thinking up a strategy to win."

"Oh, I get it." Naruto grins and cheers for Shika, and it sees Shika has a plan as he opens his eyes and reaches behind him.

"Looks like you've got some fighting spirit now…" Temari taunts him and opens her fan fully, and swings creating a powerful gust of wind, and Shika gets out a Kunai before running for cover behind a tree again. "It's pointless to hide!" I try looking for Shikamarau, but I can't find him.

"What is he doing?" I wonder, but the wind stops, but I hope Shika has a plan.

"How long are you going to run away! Cut it out!" Temari yells at him and swipes her fan creating a larger blast of wind creating a cloud of dust, out appears a Kunai heading straight for her, she dodges out of the way, and another one comes for her at her side, she deflects it with her fan. Shikamaru uses his Jutsu again, and she seems calm, but with the increasing length of the wall's shadow, his shadow also gets longer, and she jumps back out of reach.

"You caught on well." Shika comments and I see he's not wearing his jacket.

"So you were dragging your feet to wait for the sun to set… in order to make the surface of your own shadow larger by stretching the shadow line of the wall. As the sun goes down, the shadows lengthen. Isn't that so?" She guesses correctly, but Shika looks as if he's waiting for something and I see why, I look above Temari to see his jacket slowly coming down as it's tied to a Kunai.

"Temari! Up!" Kankuro yells out a warning, and she sees it as well, and it begins creating a shadow the closer to the ground it gets and Shika creates an extension of his Shadow from within, and she jumps back trying to get away, it seems almost like Shika is pushing her that way.

"I won't let you escape!" Shika seems to be playing her and luring her right in front of the hole from Naruto's fight with Neji which are connected. Clever. She places her fan in the ground in front of her obscuring her vision of Shika's Jutsu, and he uses that as she begins performing hand signs but can't finish as Shika has successfully completed his Jutsu.

"Yeah, Shika, nail her!" I yell out, and he moves his arms out, and Temari copies him.

"At last… Shadow Possession Jutsu is a success!" Shika sighs in relief. "I'll let you take a look behind you…" He turns his head allowing her to see the hole from Naruot's match. "You saw it oo, didn't you…? That hole is the hole Naruto burrowed and flew out of. So it's connected to the big hole in front of you."

"I didn't expect that… A shadow in a tunnel of a hole…" Temari grits her teeth.

"Right." He agrees, and they begin walking towards each other.

"Great, I know that look, he's going to give up, what a pain." I mumble as I watch them.

"Yes! You did it!" Naruto cheers for him, and they lift their arms up in the air.

"Good grief… I give up!" He admits defeat, shocking everyone in the crowd and Naruto, and the crowd begin shouting their displeasure just when it was getting good.

"Shika, take that back!" I yell at him, but he won't listen.

"W-what did you say?!" Temari squeals a little.

"I've used too much Chakra from Shadow Possession Jutsu in rapid succession. I can't hold it another 10 seconds. I thought of the next 200 moves in my head. But I'm out of time…" He lowers his arm down and shrugs. "This has become such a pain. Doing one match is good…"

"The winner is Temari!" The Proctor announces, and Shikamaru releases her from his Jutsu,

"Oh, I'm tired…" He complains as he rolls his shoulder.

"Why the heck did he give up!" Naruto complains and smashes his fists on the railing. "Is he an idiot?! This ticks me off!" And he jumps off towards Shika. "I'm gonna really give him a lecture!"

"Naruto!" I yell after him and jump as well down as he runs to Shika who seems to be stretching.

"You idiot!" Naruto snaps as he points at Shika.

"Shut up, super idiot!" Shikamaru complains right back.

"Why the heck did you give up?!" Naruto argues with rage.

"Let's not talk about that anymore, alright?" Shika calmly replies.

"It's not all right! It was a match you were close to winning!"

"Let's just watch the next match."

"But you just gave up! Unimaginable! Simply unimaginable!" He stops having finally heard Shika. "Huh? The next match?" He seems happy and forgetting that Shika willingly gave up but will most likely become a Chunin ahead of the rest of us. "Sasuke…!"

"Shika, well done on your match." I congratulate him, and he nods, but I smack him hard on the back, making him fall to the ground.

"What was that for?!" He snaps at me as he gets back up.

"For trying hard." I smile, and I hear the crowd getting restless waiting for Sasuke again, I try to keep Naruto from running around and see the same Jonin behind our Proctor whispering in his ear and the Proctor gets out a pocket watch as if waiting.

"Oh Sasuke, what's he doing!" Naruto complains as the crowd gets even more restless waiting for Sasuke.

"If he doesn't show soon I will be the one he'll have to face." I grumble and watch Naruto pacing.

"Sasuke! Hurry up and come! It won't be good if it stays this way!" Naruto grumbles but I stop him before he can create a hole in the ground.

"Because the time limit has expired, the last match-" The Proctor begins to announce when Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke make the most ridiculously showy entrance as they come in a whirlwind of leaves, standing back to back.

"Well, I'm sorry we're late…" Kakashi-sensei doesn't look sorry at all.

"Your name?" The Proctor asks Sasuke.

"Sasuke… Uchiha." He answers with a scowl like usual, I clench my fist in anger for the suffering he put Sakura through and then showing up all stoic.

"Huh! You're pretty late! I thought you weren't coming cos you were scared to take me on! Or face Rio!" Naruto snaps at him.

"The first round… did you win?" Sasuke asks us.

"Of course!" Naruto replies.

"Yes. Shika forfeited though, and Shino won too." I reply, and he laughs a little.

"Don't get too carried away… loser!" Sasuke grins back at the blond.

"Well, I know it's somewhat rude to be showing up all flashy like this… but was Sasuke… disqualified?" Kakashi-sensei questions nervously.

"So your habit of tardiness rubbed off on him? Cripes…" The Proctor sighs.

"And… what about it?" Sensei asks him.

"It's all right, Sasuke's match has been postponed anyway. Your arrival was barely in time, but… he hasn't been disqualified." He assures Sensei, who sighs in relief with a chuckle.

"That's good to hear!"

"Don't lose to a guy like that!" Naruto warns him.

"He's been patiently waiting, but you can feel his intent growing." I warn him.

"Yeah…" Sasuke replies, looking up at Gaara who looks even more terrifying as usual.

"Sasuke! I want… to fight you too!" Naruto replies to what Sasuke said to him a month ago.

"Got it." Sasuke replies and the crowd seems happy to see the Uchiha, I step towards him, and I see Shika trying to stop me as I pull my arm back as I smile at him.

"Sasuke, I made a promise that if you missed my match that I won I'd do this…" I punch him hard in the stomach sending him flying into the wall. "That was for making Sakura and Ino worry about you when you went missing from the hospital. But good luck in your fight against Gaara." I walk off as he gets to his feet and the crowd aren't too happy with my hit against the precious Uchiha, but they don't understand that he hurt my sister and my friends with worrying about him, and I worried for him, and he doesn't even apologise for it.

"Gaara, come down here!" The Proctor yells up to the redhead as I make it to the stairs.

"Naruto! Come on, we've got to calm Rio down!" I hear Shika call out to the blond and runs catching up to me. "Look, I agree with what you said, but you made him puke his guts up."

"I know, but he hurt Sakura, when it comes to her I'll always put her first." I reply, and Naruto catches up.

"Man, you have one mean punch, he looks ready to go." Naruto chuckles and takes my hand in his, and I can't help the blush spreading across my cheeks as we walk up the steps, I look down at my feet the whole time.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

**3rd POV:**

Sasuke peels himself out of the stone wall onto the floor, and wipes around his mouth, everyone watches the Uchiha. "Dear me, it seems you've upset Rio again." Kakashi comments with a hidden smile.

"Kakashi, I need to ask you something." Genma asks him, and the CopyCat Ninja looks at him. "She has come a long way, you should watch out for Orochimaru. He may not only go for Sasuke but for her as well now that she has Wood Release." Kakashi nods, knowing all of this.

**Chunin Exams Arc**

"Hey, hurry up!" He yells at Shika as he speeds up, still holding my hand.

"Nothing good's gonna happen in your life if you panic." Shika gives him a little advice and Naruto stops, looking over behind us.

"What's wrong?" I ask him and follow his gaze to see Gaara walking towards two adults standing closer to us and us, it doesn't look good for the two adults.

"Low-level tournaments like this Chunin Examination are ideal as gambling matches. A number of feudal lords are here for that purpose." Dummy one comments, trying to deter Gaara, but that isn't going to work.

"So… would you lose this match for us." Dummy two requests and there's a tense moment as Gaara doesn't answer them.

"Hey, come on, at least give us an answer." Dummy one sneers at the redhead.

"Too scared to say anything…" Dummy two jokes and Gaara gives the scariest look I've ever seen as Dummy one gets out a Kunai, but that sets Gaara's sand as it pops out of the gourd smashing the lights above the two. The sand comes for Dummy one and wraps around him, taking him to his death, as the other watches and tries to run from the sand but it's useless as it snatches him up before he can escape and cries out for help as the sand pulls him into the dark. The silence is deafening before I can hear the sound of footsteps getting closer from within the darkness into the light comes Gaara, I feel the small hairs on the back of my neck standing on end as he gets closer, the killing intent coming from him is terrifying. I hold onto Naruto's hand tighter, and I feel him collapse onto the step sitting catching his breath along with Shika.

"If those two in front of us hadn't been there, we probably would've been killed… this is the first I've seen anyone kill people without hesitation like that… this isn't looking good even for Sasuke." Shika sweats and wipes it away, I feel Naruto squeeze my hand, and I know he's worried for the Uchiha, even I fear what Gaara can do to that arrogant Uchiha.

**Sorry, that it took so long but last week has been emotionally and mentally painful, but I'm trying to focus on work and my stories so again sorry it took so long as I wasn't in the right mind frame for it. But I still hope you like the chapter, and I know it'll be the last one for a while again sorry, but I will try hard to get through my stories as quickly as possible. DEADGIRLETERNAL OUT!**


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